Stop Payday Predators Coalition Warns Voters: Don’t Be Misled Industry-Funded “Reform” Initiative Attempts to Change Usury Laws
PHOENIX, June 26, 2008 - Payday lenders, vying for a permanent exemption from the state’s 36% usury cap, have turned in 265,000 signatures to place their industry-authored initiative on the November ballot. In March, payday lenders filed initiative 1-16-2008, the so-called Payday Loan “Reform” Act, to save their special exemption from the state consumer loan law and protect their profits.
Campaign finance records with the Secretary of State’s office show that payday lenders have already collected $2.68 million for the initiative – 100% from large industry donations. It is estimated that between $750,000 and $1 million of that amount was spent on paid signatures.
“Payday lenders know the clock is about to run out on their special exemption from the state’s 36% annual interest rate cap,” said Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, Chairwoman of Stop Payday Predators. [Read more →]
The Arizona Daily Star, in their latest editorial on the subject, explicitly warns Arizonans to be wary of the slick mailers they’re receiving from “Reform AZ Payday Loans,” the industry-funded campaign promoting the misleading and dangerous Payday Loan “Reform” Act.
Among other warnings in the Star’s editorial, they state:
“Payday loans have a history of causing — not alleviating — financial pain for many consumers.”
“The ['Reform'] initiative would allow payday-loan operators to remain in the state beyond 2010, when the state law that allows them to operate will expire.”
“The initiative is by no means a grass-roots movement led by regular consumers who want to protect a source of money.”
They conclude: “it’s more important than ever for consumers to learn the truth about payday lending and stymie efforts by the industry to perpetuate their presence in Arizona.”
We couldn’t agree more. In this campaign, it’s regular citizens, like those supporting Stop Payday Predators all across the state, against the deep pockets of the payday lending industry. Please join the campaign today. Make a secure online donation of $50 by clicking on the Donate button on the right!
In a huge victory for Ohio consumers, it looks like Gov. Ted Strickland will sign landmark legislation capping the annual percentage rate on payday loans in the Buckeye State at 28%, instead of the current 391%. The bill passed the State House on a 70-24 vote on Tuesday, after passing in the Senate with a vote of 29-4 last week. [Read more →]
Heeding the overwhelming call from the community, the Mesa City Council reversed itself and implemented a ban on new payday loan stores within 1,200 feet of existing outlets at their final regular meeting of the current Council on Monday night. On a 5-2 vote, Mesa joins other cities across the state, including Phoenix, Tempe, Peoria, Tucson, and South Tucson, in passing strict zoning ordinances to keep predatory payday lenders from opening up even more shops in their communities.
As justification for its sham “reform” ballot initiative, the Payday Loan Industry asserts that it provides “an important credit option.”
However, the truth is that the Payday Loan business model is based on trapping people in a never-ending cycle of debt - the Payday Loan Debt Trap. In this video, a former payday lender confirms this predatory business practice.
PHOENIX – The campaign to Stop Payday Predators amended its statement of organization with the Secretary of State’s Office today to provide a head-on challenge to an industry-backed measure that would worsen the Payday Loan Debt Trap for thousands of Arizonans.
“With the November ballot getting longer and longer, our campaign has decided to confront payday loan sharks directly instead of bloody the waters with competing ballot initiatives,” said state Senator Debbie McCune Davis (D-Phoenix). [Read more →]
The predatory payday lenders have begun their multi-million dollar push to confuse voters and forever legalize their triple-digit interest rates in Arizona. They’re hoping their Payday Loan “Reform” Act will fool the voters into letting them stay. Don’t buy it!
Join Our Efforts to Eliminate Payday Lending in Arizona.
We are going up against an industry that will spend whatever it takes to preserve the hundreds of millions of dollars in profit it makes on predatory lending. So contribute today!!!
