Payday cash advance amendment threatens to gridlock Colorado legislature

[jenniferB]

The Colorado legislature is supposed to end for the session today. Unless the amendment to one bill is decided on, however, it might be gridlocked. The annual rules bill that deals with much of the day-to-day operations of the state has a new, controversial amendment about payday loans. If the issue is not resolved today, the Colorado legislature will require a special session.



The Colorado U.S. Senate Bill 78 facts



An annual bills rule is what the Colorado U.S. Senate Bill 78 is. It was used so that there are specific rules for the bills passed recently. The Colorado U.S. Senate Bill 78 had 600 rules to address. They included anything from ski lift safety to medical cannabis dispensary licensing to school fire codes to waste disposal fees. Senate Republicans amended the bill to change payday lending laws in the state after it was passed by the House.



Colorado payday lending changes that could occur



Last year, the Colorado legislature made significant changes to payday lending laws in the state. The fees and interest rates that loan providers could charge were severely limited. The origination fee is capped at $75 for short-term loans. The rules on this law were considered improper by many loan providers. The Colorado House then passed a law that stated the origination fees may be kept by corporations. It was not passed in the U.S. senate. This is the problem. The debate started all over again after the Senate Republicans put the bill back onto the Rules Bill.



Potential cost to taxpayers



If the House and U.S. Senate in Colorado cannot come to an agreement on Colorado Senate Bill 78, the legislature may well face a special session. A special session of the legislature could cost working class individuals several thousand dollars per day. It costs $50,000 a day for a special session in New York. In Washington it is $20,000 a day. In short, the cost of sorting out the payday cash advance bill in Colorado could cost taxpayers several hundred thousand dollars.



Articles cited



Komo News

komonews.com/news/local/120742604.html



Denver Post

denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18038290