Grist from the General Assembly

The Senate passed SB 1470 that would end open-ended credit lines by payday lenders. Now a House committee has endorsed similar legislation in HB 1709. After the weak regulations passed last year, some payday lenders tried to dodge the intent of the legislation by offering the open-end loans with no limits on interest rates. Hopefully, our wise legislators will move to crack down on car title lenders as well. How about limiting rates on the usurious "rapid refund loans" at the storefront tax preparers, too.

A Senate committee passed SB 827 to require instruction in the "benefits, challenges, responsibilities and value" of marriage in the family life curriculum fro grades K-12. The House has already passed similar legislation. In a prior post, CCC was critical of this feel-good legislation that is at best redundant. It was amended in the Senate to include "challenges and responsibilities" of marriage - perhaps a slight improvement. The bill has received support by such diverse groups as the Family Foundation of Virginia and the Equality Virginia.  

Bill, bills, bills...

With the General Assembly nearing the midway point, each house is wrapping up work on their own bills. Several of interest to CCC are still alive while others have hit the chopping block.

HJ 628 will allow restoration of voting rights of nonviolent felons who have completed their sentences. It awaits vote in the Privileges and Elections committee. Contact members to urge them to vote yes and end this holdover from the Jim Crow era. After all, shouldn't it be the policy of the New Dominion (as opposed to the Byrd era) to restore people to the community and to encourage voting? If HJ 628 passes the House, its chances are excellent in the Senate.

HB 2465 protects the right of citizens to petition the court for removal of a public official without fearing dismissal or sanctions because of a minor clerical or procedural error. It passed the Privileges and Elections Committee by a vote of 13-8 and is before the full House. Contact your delegate to urge passage.

SB 810 allows in-person absentee voting without giving an excuse. It passed the Senate 24-16 but faces an uncertain future in a more hostile House. It is never too early to begin lobbying your delegate for passage.

SB 1470 passed the Senate yesterday. It prohibits payday lenders from making open-ended loans. It does not include the car title lenders as SB 1490 would do. SB 1490 is still in the Commerce and Labor Committee. Contact your Senator and tell them to include both payday and car title lenders. Better yet, tell them to impose a mandatory 36% maximum APR, which includes all fees. More info. 

SB 961, Senator Mark Obenshain's bill to eliminate the "triggerman rule" passed the Senate. It would allow the imposition of the death penalty not only for the shooter, but also for accessories and principals in the second degree. The death penalty is morally wrong, an ineffective deterrent, and usually results in long and expensive appeals. Virginia has one of the broadest death penalty laws in the country and its expansion will not make us any safer. SB 961 will probably pass the House, but Governor Tim Kaine has indicated he will veto it. Stay tuned and urge the Governor to stand strong.

Senator Obenshain's bill to privatize Virginia's ABC stores died yesterday in the Rehabilitation and Services Committee on a 13-2 vote. Splitting from his neighbor, Senator Emmett Hanger voted against the bill. CCC supports the concept of private ownership of liquor sales but there are significant problems to overcome. Some are known, but as always, beware unintended consequences! Obenshain says no jobs would be lost, but current employees would be displaced and/or potentially lose retirement benefits. Obenshain says it will increase state revenues, but would that be true a decade or two from now? We might replace the state monopoly with a oligopoly where a few big dogs control alcohol sales for private profit. Some states have experienced corruption in the ownership and transfer of licenses. Perhaps the time to privatize ABC stores will come in the future, after more study and more than a half-baked attempt to anticipate problems that could adversely impact Virginia and valued state employees. Maybe it is time to refer this issue to JLARC for an in-depth and bipartisan look.

Chicken Feed: Payday lenders at the trough

A payday lending "reform" bill waits on Governor Kaine's desk. Is it meaningful reform or more laying mash for the predatory industry? Can the Governor offer amendments to toughen it and send it back to the General Assembly? Or will the Senate, at the urging of a couple powerful Democrats, block the Governor and real reform?

The bill that passed has a few significant changes from current law. Among other things it caps the APR at 36% but allows a 20% fee and a $5 fee to support a data base of payday loan borrowers. There are other changes in the minimum term of the loan and limits on the number of loans.

Opponents see this as caving in to the industry. A coalition of the AARP, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, and the Virginia Organizing Project made it clear they are not giving up the fight for meaningful reform. I imagine Staunton City Councilman Bruce Elder will keep up the fight, too. Elder pushed the Council to adopt a tough resolution urging the General Assembly to act. Many other localities followed Staunton's lead.

Media in the Valley and across the state is urging Kaine to offer some amendments (one he heard about in the Town Hall Meetings - cut the 20% in half). A Roanoke Times editorial speculates the timid reforms will only delay the battle to next year's session. Jim McCloskey, the thought-provoking cartoonist at the News Leader, recently jabbed at the General Assembly's weak bill:

No bill is better than a bad bill. The bill on Governor Kaine's desk will be a bad law that will reduce chances of passing real reform next year. Write the Governor and encourage him to add amendments to protect consumers. Challenge him to put the issue squarely in front of those Virginia Senators, including Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, who are a bit too cozy with the payday loan industry. Then let the Senators squirm and justify why they favor predators over people.