How Payday Lending Died In PA Senate

Payday Lending Dead Again.  Thank you, members!  And please thank Sen. Brewster!

The zombie-brained idea that just doesn't want to die got a big nail in its coffin this October– and your action helped.  Payday lending went down in flames in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, which we’d come to view as friendly to the payday lenders.  An October 6 head count vote concluded with a 7-7 tie, rendering it insufficient to pass. The resolution was then withdrawn by its sponsor. Every Democrat, including Senator Jim Brewster, and Republicans Senators Rafferty and Vance voted against the measure.Mid-September, the Senate introduced a resolution to study short-term/payday lending.  The study would have been tailor-made to support the industry’s widely debunked arguments in favor of legalizing high-cost lending in the Commonwealth. It would have ignored the impact of triple-digit APR loans on millions of Pennsylvania consumers as well as a sizeable volume of evidence documenting abusive business practices by the payday lending industry.The Pennsylvania coalition, of which PCRG is a member, is not against studying payday lending.  However, we are adamant that any such investigation be comprehensive, addresses legitimate, well-documented criticisms of the short-term/payday lending industry, and be conducted in a transparent process. The Senate’s proposal included none of these.We were pleasantly surprised by this early Halloween treat, and it is unlikely that we’ll see any additional action. Please make sure to thank Senator Brewster for standing up and protecting struggling Pennsylvanian families.