A Senate committee has approved a bill authored by Wauwatosa Democratic Sen. Jim Sullivan to regulate payday lenders after making changes that align it closer with the version that has already cleared the Assembly.
State Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) supported the bill but vowed to propose an amendment on the Senate floor instituting a cap of 36 percent on the interest rates that can be charged. He compared passing the regulation without an interest rate cap to "going to the Brewers game without having a brat and a beer – it’s just not right."
The amendment creates a database for individuals taking out payday loans, allows for one loan rollover and creates a mechanism for licensing the controversial lenders under the Department of Financial Instructions. But the amendment also caps the loans at 35 percent of a borrower’s gross monthly income or a maximum of $1,500; the Assembly bill placed the cap at 35 percent of bi-weekly income or a $600 maximum.
The amendment and the bill were each approved 3-1, with GOP Sen. Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) voting against.
See more on Sullivan’s amendment: http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/100406SB530_sub_fact_sheet.pdf.
-WisPolitics.com
