Yesterday was a big victory for Arizona consumers, and you made it happen. Thank you!

The payday lenders’ bill, their second attempt this session to repeal the 2010 sunset, went down to defeat in the Senate Appropriations Committee on a bipartisan 5 to 3 vote.

The Committee voted it down despite the fact that the payday lenders swarmed the Capitol with employees, lobbyists and national industry executives.  At the end of the day, the Committee voted it down because they heard from YOU.

Our gratitude goes out to  the many organizations and individuals from all corners of the state who contributed in countless ways to defeat this bill against tremendous odds.

This victory is your victory.

But, while yesterday was a high-profile win for consumers, the fight is not over.

The payday lenders, with $150 million a year on the line, are not likely to take this repudiation by the Senate Appropriations Committee as the final word, just like they did not take the House Banking Committee’s opposition in January, or the voters’ opposition at the ballot box, as the final word.

Until this legislative session comes to a close, we must remain alert and vigilant.

While we keep our eye on the payday lenders, this is also an important moment to thank the senators that voted to uphold the will of the voters and protect Arizona consumers:

Republican Sens. David Braswell of Phoenix, Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City and Sylvia Allen of Snowflake, and Democratic Sens. Rebecca Rios of Apache Junction and Paula Aboud of Tucson, all voted against HB2370.  Additionally, Democratic Sen. Amanda Aguirre of Yuma, who had to leave the marathon hearing before the vote took place at nearly 7:00 pm, also was committed to voting against the bill.

Please call these senators THIS WEEK to thank them for standing with the voters — and standing up for Arizona consumers!

• Sen. David Braswell, District 6 – North Phoenix, Anthem, New River
  (602) 926-5284  dbraswell@azleg.gov

• Sen. Ron Gould, District 3 – Mohave County
  (602) 926-4138  rgould@azleg.gov

• Sen. Rebecca Rios, District 23 – Pinal County
  (602) 926-5685  rrios@azleg.gov

• Sen. Paula Aboud, District 28 -  Central Tucson
  (602) 926-5262  paboud@azleg.gov

• Sen. Sylvia Allen, District 5 – Apache, Graham, Gila and Navajo Counties
  (602) 926-5219 sallen@azleg.gov

• Sen. Amanda Aguirre, District 24 – Yuma County
  (602) 926-4139  aaguirre@azleg.gov

We are engaged in an epic struggle against a very powerful industry.  And you can bet that when we reach the finish line here in Arizona, it will have a positive effect on consumers not just here, but nationwide.

My deepest gratitude to you,

Debbie McCune Davis

~~~

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99 Arizona
The Arizona Credit Union League, The Center for Economic Integrity
and Mi Familia Vota

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

CONTACT:
David Higuera, AZ for Responsible Lending (520) 907-2080
Molly Edwards, Attorney General Terry Goddard (602) 542-8019

Press Conference Today, 10:00 a.m., to Underscore
Bipartisan Opposition to HB2370 – Payday Loans

Bill to be heard at 1:30 p.m. in Senate Appropriations Committee

PHOENIX –   Attorney General Terry Goddard, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Gray, Sen. John Nelson, Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, and nationally-recognized consumer advocate Jean Ann Fox will hold a press conference later this morning about HB2370 – the payday loan strike-everything bill to be heard later today in Senate Appropriations Committee.

HB2370, like HB2161 earlier in the session, would authorize 400% payday loans to continue in Arizona indefinitely, and extend payday lenders’ special exemption from the state Consumer Loan Act.

WHAT:
Press Conference re: Payday Loan Re-Authorization Bill, HB2370

WHEN:
TODAY,  March 16, 2010
10:00 AM

WHERE:
Senate Hearing Room 3
Arizona State Senate
1700 West Washington

WHO:
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard
Sen. John Nelson (R-Glendale)
Jean Ann Fox, Director of Financial Services, Consumer Federation of America
Sen. Debbie McCune Davis (D-Phoenix)
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Gray (R-Mesa)

Time for Q&A with all speakers will be provided after the presentations.

For a breakdown of why HB2161 / 2370 is NOT reform, click here.

For a breakdown of why HB2161 / 2370 is the same as Prop 200, click here.

For Frequently Asked Questions, click here.

# # #

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99 Arizona
The Arizona Credit Union League, The Center for Economic Integrity
and Mi Familia Vota

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

]]> http://www.nomoreloansharks.com/2010/03/advisory-press-conf-1000-am-ag-goddard-sen-majority-leader-gray-lead-bipartisan-opposition/feed/ 0 http://www.nomoreloansharks.com/2010/03/payday-lenders-last-rally/ http://www.nomoreloansharks.com/2010/03/payday-lenders-last-rally/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:13:27 +0000 admin http://www.nomoreloansharks.com/?p=2723 Dear Friends and Supporters,

Today’s the day.

If you can make it to the State Capitol to attend the Senate Appropriations hearing at 1:30 p.m. and/or sign in against HB2370 at any time before 1:30, it may be the difference between winning and losing.

The payday lenders will have employees and “happy customers” there in numbers to try to convince Committee Members that there is “a need” for extremely high-interest loans.

In fact, the payday lenders are staging a “Pro Payday Loans” rally at 12:30 this afternoon on the Capitol lawn! They’ll have hundreds of employees out there with signs that say things like “Save our Jobs,” and “Don’t Eliminate Industry.”

While this rally will certainly make for good TV, it does not change three simple facts.  HB 2370 would…

1. Allow 400% payday loans to continue, perpetuating a faulty loan product designed to trap the borrower.

2. Give protected status to payday lenders at the expense of all other financial service providers, undermining the free market.

3. Undermine the will of the voters.

Some Committee Members are still undecided, and need to hear from YOU.

Call them, email them, and plan to attend TODAY!

TUESDAY, MARCH 16TH

1:30 PM*

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE HEARING

Arizona Senate, Hearing Room 109

1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007

* Arrive by 12:30 if you can.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: CALL TODAY!

• Sen. Sylvia Allen, District 5 – Apache, Graham, Gila and Navajo Counties
  DISTRICT VOTED 59% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-5219 sallen@azleg.gov

• Sen. David Braswell, District 6 – North Phoenix, Anthem, New River
  DISTRICT VOTED 58% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-5284  dbraswell@azleg.gov

• Sen. Ron Gould, District 3 – Mohave County
  DISTRICT VOTED 55% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-4138  rgould@azleg.gov

• Sen. Al Melvin, District 26 – Northern Tucson, Oro Valley, Saddlebrooke
  DISTRICT VOTED 68% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-4326  amelvin@azleg.gov

• Sen. Jack Harper, District 4 – Surprise, Sun City West, Peoria, Wickenburg
  DISTRICT VOTED 58% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-4178  jharper@azleg.gov

• Sen. Rebecca Rios, District 23 – Pinal County
  Assistant Democratic Leader
  DISTRICT VOTED 57% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-5685  rrios@azleg.gov

• Sen. Amanda Aguirre, District 24 – Yuma County
  DISTRICT VOTED 64% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-4139  aaguirre@azleg.gov

• Sen. Paula Aboud, District 28 -  Central Tucson
  DISTRICT VOTED 70% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-5262  paboud@azleg.gov

• Committee Chairman Russell Pearce, District 18 – Mesa
  DISTRICT VOTED 59% AGAINST PAYDAY LOANS
  (602) 926-5760  rpearce@azleg.gov

Make sure they know that YOU oppose HB2370 because it would…

… Allow 400% payday loans to continue, perpetuating a faulty loan product designed to trap the borrower.  The average borrower would still have to pay back over $800 on a $350 loan (eight loans/renewals per year)

… Give protected status to payday lenders at the expense of all other financial service providers, undermining the free market.

… Undermine the will of the voters.

For a detailed look at why the Arizona Republic opposes this bill, click here.

The senators’ choice is to either uphold the will of the voters or cave to the influence of wealthy, out-of-state special interests.  Call them to make sure they make the right choice.

Then forward this email to 5 friends. Tell them you have weighed in, and they should, too!

For tools you can download and share, check out the “Supporter Tools” box here.

For More Information,  call:

David Higuera
(520) 907-2080

Kelly Griffith
(520) 250-4416

Thank you,

Arizonans for Responsible Lending

~~~

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99 Arizona
The Arizona Credit Union League, The Center for Economic Integrity
and Mi Familia Vota

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

Arizona voters said “no” to the sky-high interest rates of payday loans. It’s hard to believe the Legislature might turn around and say “yes.”

But payday lenders are lobbying up a storm to keep their special deal. They have a 10-year exemption from state interest-rate limits, which expires in July. It allows them to charge interest rates that amount to 400 percent a year.

That’s w-a-a-a-a-y above the 36 percent ceiling on other types of small-loan products.

Barely a year ago, in November 2008, voters decided whether to make the payday-lending deal permanent. They said “no” loudly and clearly by a ratio of 15-1.

No one can argue the voters didn’t understand the ballot proposition, with its limited reforms. The payday-loan industry spent $15 million pushing it.

Yet legislators are still considering whether to flout the will of the people. A bill was introduced this session that virtually duplicated the ballot measure.

That died, and now, there’s a version with a community contribution added as a sweetener.

Payday lending didn’t even exist in Arizona until 2000, when the Legislature passed the interest-rate exemption. Now, too many borrowers are getting caught in a spiral of repeatedly renewing the two-week loans and racking up huge interest costs. That’s why charities, such as St. Vincent de Paul, oppose extending the payday-lending exemption.

Military personnel ran into such problems with payday loans that performance and readiness suffered. In 2006, Congress prohibited loans to the military at annual interest rates above 36 percent.

The package proposed now, as a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2370, calls for a 1.5 percent donation to “organizations that provide services to low-income and moderate-income individuals” in the communities in which a payday lender operates.

This vaguely worded category could include about anything and has nothing to do with the flaws of payday lending.

Workers who need $500 for an emergency aren’t going to magically find that money two weeks later, when the payday loan comes due. So, they take out repeated loans, paying $75 each time.

For someone who makes $8 to $9 an hour, the loan eats up more than a day’s pay.

Payday lenders have tried to drum up support with the specter of the jobs that would be lost if the exemption ends and they close up shop. But they’ve had plenty of time to prepare.

The number of payday-loan operations has already shrunk in anticipation of the July sunset.

Many outlets have expanded into other lines, such as prepaid credit cards. And this is hardly a source of stable jobs: Advance America, the nation’s largest payday lender, had 67 percent annual turnover among non-management employees last year.

Legislators often talk about the need for a level playing field. Giving payday lenders the right to charge 10 times more than other lenders is about as tilted as it gets.

Voters said “no.” Legislators must not say “yes.”

The Senate Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider HB 2370 at its 1:30 p.m. meeting today.

To add your comments, click here.

CONTACT:
David Higuera, AZ for Responsible Lending (520) 907-2080
Molly Edwards, Attorney General Terry Goddard (602) 542-8019

Tuesday Press Conference at Capitol to Underscore
Bipartisan Opposition to HB2370 – Payday Loans

PHOENIX –   Attorney General Terry Goddard, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Gray, Sen. John Nelson, Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, and nationally-recognized consumer advocate Jean Ann Fox will hold a press conference Tuesday morning about HB2370 – the payday loan strike-everything bill to be heard later Tuesday in Senate Appropriations Committee.

HB2370, like HB2161 earlier in the session, would authorize 400% payday loans to continue in Arizona indefinitely, and extend payday lenders’ special exemption from the state Consumer Loan Act.

WHAT:
Press Conference re: Payday Loan Re-Authorization Bill, HB2370

WHEN:
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
10:00 AM

WHERE:
Senate Hearing Room 3
Arizona State Senate
1700 West Washington

WHO:
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard
Sen. John Nelson (R-Glendale)
Jean Ann Fox, Director of Financial Services, Consumer Federation of America
Sen. Debbie McCune Davis (D-Phoenix)
Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Gray (R-Mesa)

Time for Q&A with all speakers will be provided after presentations.

# # #

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99 Arizona
The Arizona Credit Union League, The Center for Economic Integrity
and Mi Familia Vota

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

Bill would add new rules, community payout

In today’s Arizona Republic:

There is a revived legislative effort to keep the high-interest lending industry alive in Arizona, but this version includes a payout to community groups.

Sen. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, has proposed a strike-everything amendment to House Bill 2370 that would, among other things, allow fees of $15 per $100 borrowed, restrict the number of loans an individual could take out at one time and allow a customer to rescind the transaction if he or she returns the money within two business days.

It also would require businesses to give at least 1.5 percent of the fees it collects to “organizations that provide services to low-income and moderate-income individuals” in their community.

Payday-loan centers arrived in Arizona a decade ago after the Legislature approved a 10-year exemption to the state’s 36 percent cap on interest rates. If it’s not extended, that exemption expires June 30.

In 2008, the industry asked Arizona voters to make the 10-year interest-rate-limit exemption permanent. Voters said no.

Pearce’s is the second attempt this session to propose a bill that would preserve the industry.

Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, proposed House Bill 2161, which would have done the same thing Pearce’s amendment proposes to do – without the payout to community groups. Opponents packed the House Banking and Insurance Committee hearing room to speak against the bill, and Tobin pulled it off the agenda.

“There is not enough support yet,” Tobin said at the time.

Those who showed up in opposition at the last hearing said they intended to make sure there would never be enough support. Many are expected to return to oppose Pearce’s striker.

“All they’ve done is recycled (HB 2161) and added a bribe on top of it,” David Higuera, with Arizonans for Responsible Lending, said. “It’s a perverse argument to say we’re going to take millions out of the community and then give back a small portion of it as compensation.”

The amendment will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee Pearce chairs at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday in Senate Hearing Room 109, 1700 W. Washington St., Phoenix.

To add your comments, click here.

The voters of Arizona have spoken.  The Sun must Set on 400%.

We cannot allow the out-of-state payday lenders and their army of lobbyists to undermine the will of the people.  That’s exactly what HB2370, which will be heard Tuesday, would do.

This bill is just HB2161 with a bribe on top.

In an arrogant and cynical move, the payday lenders believe that if they just throw some money at the community (“The 1.5% Kickback”), it should justify the $150 million a year they strip from trapped borrowers across Arizona.

At the end of the day, HB2370 still allows 400% interest loans to continue in Arizona indefinitely.

It still perpetuates a faulty loan product designed to trap the borrower every time.  It still gives protected status to payday lenders at the expense of all other financial service providers, undermining the free market.

It still means the average borrower will have to pay back over $800 on a $350 loan.

The voters already said “NO!”

The payday lenders have spent a lot of money trying to influence the Senate Appropriations Committee.  It is up to us — all of us — to make sure that the voters prevail over the out-of-state special interests.  It’s as simple as that.

If you have not done so already, please contact the Committee Members today and tell them to vote NO on HB2370.  If you live in their district, make sure you let them know that.

You can leave them a voice mail, send a brief email, or both.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:

• Sen. Rebecca Rios, District 23 – Pinal County
  Assistant Democratic Leader
  (602) 926-5685  rrios@azleg.gov

• Sen. Amanda Aguirre, District 24 – Yuma
  (602) 926-4139  aaguirre@azleg.gov

• Sen. Sylvia Allen, District 5 – Snowflake
  (602) 926-5219  sallen@azleg.gov

• Sen. David Braswell, District 6 – Phoenix, Glendale, Cave Creek
  Newly appointed senator; replaced Pamela Gorman
  (602) 926-5284  dbraswell@azleg.gov

• Sen. Ron Gould, District 3 – Lake Havasu City
  (602) 926-4138  rgould@azleg.gov

• Sen. Jack Harper, District 4 – Surprise
  (602) 926-4178  jharper@azleg.gov

• Sen. Al Melvin, District 26 – Tucson
  (602) 926-4326  amelvin@azleg.gov

• Sen. Paula Aboud, District 28 -  Tucson
  (602) 926-5262  paboud@azleg.gov

• Sen. Russell Pearce, District 18 – Mesa
  COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
  (602) 926-5760  rpearce@azleg.gov

Please forward this email to friends and family. Make sure everyone knows about Tuesday’s 1:30 pm Hearing in Senate Appropriations.

For tools you can download and share, check out the “Supporter Tools” box here.

For More Information,  call:

David Higuera
(520) 907-2080

Kelly Griffith
(520) 250-4416

Thank you,

Arizonans for Responsible Lending

~~~

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99 Arizona
The Arizona Credit Union League, The Center for Economic Integrity
and Mi Familia Vota

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

Our view: Lawmakers must not rescue usurious industry; voters have spoken

The unmitigated gall of the payday-loan industry and its desperation to stay in business in Arizona will be on display again in Phoenix next week.

The industry is still working the angles at the Legislature. Lawmakers must turn it down.

Voters said by a 3-2 ratio in 2008 that they want the usurious lending shops to shut down, as scheduled, on June 30.

Further, as Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reported on Friday, efforts to “reform” the industry’s practices and extend its Arizona life were dropped in the state House after bill sponsor Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, found no Democrats were willing to support the bill.

Now, according to Fischer, Senate Appropriations Chairman Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, has agreed to give a lifesaving extension a hearing in his committee on Tuesday.

In 2000, the Legislature authorized “deferred presentment transactions” on a trial basis. In these transactions, a borrower writes a check for up to $500, plus a fee of up to $17.85 per $100 borrowed. The lender advances the money, minus the fee, and promises not to cash the check for up to two weeks.

The trial period, and the industry’s exemption from the state’s 36 percent interest cap, expires June 30.

The new measure would allow lenders to continue rake in what amounts to interest payouts of 400 percent annually, Fischer wrote. In exchange, the industry is offering to give some $1.5 million of proceeds each year to organizations that help the needy.

Never mind that some of the needy may have become needy because of the crippling burden of payday loan interest costs.

Any member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who approves this measure will be demonstrating utter indifference to Arizona voters.

This last-minute reprieve must be killed in committee and payday lenders must be shut down June 30.

To add your comments, click here.

In the March 5 edition of the Arizona Capitol Times, three of the state’s chambers of commerce ran a full-page ad on page 2 supporting the “short-term consumer financing industry,” or in English, the payday lenders.

In the ad, they drag out the old talking point about “reasonable regulation” and end with the admonishment, “Support Payday Loan Reform!” Where have we heard that one before?

Any of us who were around during the Proposition 200 battle in 2008 are familiar with this industry’s expensive taste for advertising and loose association with the truth.

What’s interesting is the messenger.

The Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce is one of the groups named in the ad. In the Prop. 200 debate, the Phoenix Chamber took a clear position against the payday lenders’ measure, saying that it would have created a voter-protected special deal for just one industry. Why now are they arguing for overturning the will of the voters in order to protect a special deal for just one industry?

Why are they suddenly supporting a measure that undermines the free market by giving unique protected status to payday lenders?

Just follow the money.

After the payday lenders’ ballot measure was overwhelmingly defeated in 2008, they decided that they should join the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce – after nearly 10 years of operating in Maricopa County without being members. Interesting timing.

Now, payday loan stores make up the Phoenix Chamber’s largest membership group.

Prior to Prop. 200, only 17 payday loan stores (two companies) were members of the Phoenix Chamber. Since their overwhelming defeat in November 2008, that number has grown to 124, meaning that nine out of 10 payday loan stores that are members of the Phoenix Chamber joined after the voters rejected them at the polls. The next largest category, “hotels, motels, and resorts,” is a distant second with 66 members.

And wouldn’t you know it, a whole bunch of these new members promptly joined the Chamber’s Policy Committee, just in time to vote on this year’s industry-written bill, H2161, to extend the life of payday lending.

Gosh, their timing is impressive.

And just like their $15 million ad blitz in 2008, the payday lenders’ new ads are nothing more than a smoke and mirrors campaign to create the illusion of community support.

The truth is quite different.

The Chandler Chamber of Commerce came out last month against any continuation of 400-percent payday loans. The board of directors stated, “It is our position that the voters have spoken loud and clear. Payday loans take unfair advantage of those in our community who can afford it the least.”

Clarence Boykins, President of the Tucson-Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce, said, “Payday lenders have damaged our community and are hurting the entire Arizona economy, particularly during the recession. Enough is enough.”

And it’s not just chambers of commerce that think the time has come to let 400-percent loans expire. The Arizona Consumers Council, AARP Arizona, Children’s Action Alliance, labor unions, business leaders, faith leaders, civic leaders, cities like Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa and dozens of community groups across the state all agree.

So do Democratic and Republican legislators and other Capitol insiders.

Just last month, the Capitol Times ran an online poll asking readers whether payday lenders should stay or go. More than 70 percent of the 600 participants in the poll said that it’s time for them to go.

But like they did with Prop. 200, payday lenders are throwing lots of money after votes, hoping that support will grow as the money flows.

It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.

- Sen. Debbie McCune Davis is a Democrat who represents District 14.
She is co-chair of Arizonans for Responsible Lending, a statewide coalition of more than 200 organizations opposed to the continuation of triple-digit payday loans.

- Barry M. Aarons is the owner of The Aarons Company LLC and represents Arizonans for Responsible Lending.

To post a comment on this column online, click here.

As we announced last night, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear on Tuesday a “Strike-Everything Amendment” that would reauthorize payday loans:  HB2370

Interestingly, the bill was pulled from the agenda this morning, only to reappear an hour later on a second agenda revision.

We’re not sure what happened, but clearly, this bill is looking like a Hail Mary pass for the payday lenders.

They’re counting on it passing this committee.  We must stop it.  Again!

Call the Committee Members today and tell them:

“Vote NO on HB2370: No More Special Deals for Payday Lenders!”

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:

• Sen. Rebecca Rios, District 23 – Pinal County
  Assistant Democratic Leader
  (602) 926-5685

• Sen. Amanda Aguirre, District 24 – Yuma
  (602) 926-4139

• Sen. Sylvia Allen, District 5 – Snowflake
  (602) 926-5219

• Sen. David Braswell, District 6 – Phoenix, Glendale, Cave Creek
  Newly appointed senator; replaced Pamela Gorman
  (602) 926-5284

• Sen. Ron Gould, District 3 – Lake Havasu City
  (602) 926-4138

• Sen. Jack Harper, District 4 – Surprise
  (602) 926-4178

• Sen. Al Melvin, District 26 – Tucson
  (602) 926-4326

• Sen. Paula Aboud, District 28 -  Tucson
  (602) 926-5262

• Sen. Russell Pearce, District 18 – Mesa
  COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
  (602) 926-5760

HB2370, when it passed out of the House of Representatives and was sent to the Senate, dealt with theft of merchandise pallets.  But that was before the “strike-everything amendment.”

Now, bill sponsor Warde Nichols (East Valley) is allowing it to be used to push the payday lenders’ agenda, and Chairman Russell Pearce is complying.

At least they stayed with the theme of “theft.”

LANGUAGE OF THE BILL

They haven’t yet posted the language of the “theft”/payday bill, but we know it won’t be good.  At the very least, it will attempt to extend or repeal the July 1, 2010 payday loan sunset, the same sunset we all voted to uphold.

The payday lenders are running ads again, sending junk mail to voters again, and flooding your representatives’ email boxes with appeals to let them stay.

They’re still promising “reforms” and trying to make the case that what they are proposing now is different than Prop 200.  But if their last bill is any indication, what they’re proposing now is just more of the same.

Please call the Appropriations Committee Members right now.

Tell them:

• The voters have spoken.

• No extensions. No more special deals for payday lenders.

• No more laws that hurt consumers and undermine the free market.

• Enough is enough!

Payday lenders need to cap their loans at 36% APR, which is exactly what will happen when we uphold the 2010 Sunset.

After you’ve called the senators, shoot off a quick Letter to the Editor.

BE THERE TUESDAY:

Tuesday, March 16th

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

1:30 PM*

Arizona Senate, Hearing Room 109

1700 West Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007

The payday industry will surely try to pack the hearing room with employees and “happy customers.” 
So, get there early and get a seat up front!

We recommend getting there by 12:30 and planning to stay as long as you can.

WE NEED YOUR PRESENCE THERE!

* Time may change.  We’ll keep you updated.

Think you can make it?
Let Kelly know – kelly@economicintegrity.org

~

To see the Prop 200 results in each of these senator’s districts, click here.

For tools you can download and share, visit the “Supporter Tools” box at www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com

Thank you for all you do,

David Higuera
Arizonans for Responsible Lending
(520) 907-2080

Paid for by Arizonans for Responsible Lending

Major Funding by AARP Arizona
Center for Responsible Lending, N.C., SEIU, Washington, and SIMG, Tucson.
Additional Support from Arizona State Credit Union, UFCW Local 99
The Arizona Credit Union League, and Mi Familia Vota.

www.NoMoreLoanSharks.com