Payday Lender Regulation Bill Stalls in Committee

A legislative committee is sending a payday loan regulation bill to a subcommittee, a move that upset the bill’s sponsor.

 

Rep. Patricia Todd of Birmingham had urged the committee to approve the bill Wednesday. She says the state needs tighter restrictions on the lenders, arguing the loans trap poor people in debt.

Todd’s bill seeks a database to enforce limits on the number of loans people can have within a year. It would limit the annual interest rate to 36 percent.

Payday lenders oppose the bill. They say customers choose those loans over others types of financial transactions to avoid late fees and bank overdraft charges.

 

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