Payday Lenders 55,637 Signatures Short Of Making The Ballot
Submitted by dpotts on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 7:41pm.
The payday lending industry is 55,637 signatures short of making the ballot in November, according to Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Tuesday determined that a referendum for the November ballot proposed by The Committee to Reject House Bill 545, also known as Ohioans for Financial Freedom, has fallen short of the number of valid signatures needed.
The secretary of state’s office said the proposed referendum to place Sub HB 545 before voters this fall contains 185,729 valid signatures.
To qualify for the ballot, the petitioners need at least 241,366 valid signatures, which represents 6 percent of ballots cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election. Petitioners must also have valid signatures equaling at least 3 percent of the ballots cast in the 2006 gubernatorial election in at least 44 counties. Petitioners met the 3 percent threshold in 33 counties.
They have 10 days remaining to meet the guidelines.
Issue 5 WILL be on ballot! Vote yes on issue 5!
Submitted by Friedman on Wed, 09/24/2008 - 11:19am.
While the payday lobby has been dealt a temporary setback, the industry has been out collecting more signatures since September 1st and will no doubt be on the ballot! They've been out deceiving voters since then and a now have until October 3rd to collect more.
The payday lobby also has a new "Big Brother" ad up and running trying to scare Ohio voters, suggesting the government will be involved in their financial decisions. This is untruthful and inaccurate. The "database" included in HB 545 is meant to ensure that the payday lenders comply with the new law and only loan 4 times per year per customer. This makes certain that borrowers won't get caught in a cycle of debt.
If you want to end the debt trap for hundreds of thousands of consumers and want lower interest rates on small loans, vote yes on issue 5!
Advance America closes 39 centers
Submitted by Randy on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 10:40am.
"Advance America, Cash Advance Centers, Inc. today announced that it will close all 30 Centers it operates in Arkansas. The company has also completed the previously announced closure of all 9 Centers that it had operated in New Mexico. The decision to close these Centers is the result of recent regulatory and legislative actions that prevent the Company from continuing to operate in an economically viable manner in those states."
Full article here: http://pr-canada.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=47652&Itemid=65 (and other places).
So, I'm confused, what's the status in Ohio? Did a law pass? When will it go into effect?
Randy.. info on Ohio legislation
Submitted by modernesquire on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 1:08pm.
I don't know the effective date of the legislation, but, yes Ohio passed legislation that has the lowest cap on payday interest rates in the nation. I do believe its in force today. The industry has put an issue on the ballot that essentially repeals the bill, but have phrased it in such a way that the voters are asked, instead, whether the changes made into law should stand.
Thanks Modern...
Submitted by Randy on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 1:46pm.
I'm watching this legislation in other states, but it's hard to keep up with. SC failed to pass anything earlier this year, but many of the major cities are enacting legislation. It's not a good solution, but it's the best we can do so far...
They got the signatures
Submitted by dpotts on Fri, 10/03/2008 - 2:31pm.
Just for the record, this WILL be on the ballot.
Great news!