From Ken Santema’s video, here’s my two-and-a-quarter pitch for Initiated Measure 21, the real 36% rate cap on South Dakota’s November 2016 ballot (complete with a shout-out to my friend Larry Stroschien, who looks a lot better in his black hat than the loan sharks taking South Dakotans for a ride with 574% interest rates).
If you believe in fair business practices, if you believe in protecting your friends and neighbors from loan sharks, and if you believe in beating back rich out-of-staters who try to abuse our democratic initiative process, you vote YES on IM 21!
But before you vote yes on IM21, be sure to contact you legislators and also the members of the SD State affairs committee, prior to 2-17 and ask them to oppose HB1161. Because if that bill passes, you vote in November for IM21 will mean nothing, because HB1161 countermands IM21 or anything else that would limit the usurers’ ability to hose people with their 575% loans.
South Dakota advocate for the people extraordinary, Cathy Brechtelsbauer had the best explanation last week of how that would work:
It turns out that HB1161 is a way for payday lenders to keep from being subject to the interest rate limit that we hope will be enacted by voters in November (now called Initiated Measure 21, the 36% rate cap). Given the way 1161 is structured, it would allow lenders to continue making loans at unlimited rates, regardless of the outcome of the vote in November.
HB1161 sets up a new licensing scheme for lenders. You can easily see this: The initiated measure for the 36% rate cap has this section (section 2 of the initiative), referring to section 54-4 of the codified law of the state of South Dakota, that starts this way:
“Section 2. That 54-4-44 be mended to read as follows:” Then follows the 36% limit.
Now look way down in section 43 of HB1161, close to the end. It also refers to section 54-4 codified law of the state of South Dakota:
“Section 43. That the code be amended by adding a NEW SECTION to read:
No licensee licensed pursuant to this Act is subject to the provisions or requirements of chapter 54-4.”
Good point, Lanny! HB 1161 is just one of many grenades the payday lenders will throw at us before we get to vote on this 36% rate cap in November.
PLEASE: Help needed to stop HB1161
It is very important that if you haven’t already contacted them, that you go to:
http://legis.sd.gov/Legislators/default.aspx?CurrentSession=True
and contact each member of the House State Affairs committee, by sending them an email from this website. It is a very simple process and all you need to do is type the email addressing the first one on the list and then leave the email there after you have sent it and then change the name to the next one on the list and so on until you have contacted each. When finished just verify that you sent the emails by clicking each one individually and you are done. Thanks for your help. The people being hosed by the payday lenders will thank you. Here are the members of the committee.
Bartling, Bolin, Gosch, Don Haggar, Hawley, Langer, Mickelson, Munsterman, Solum, Stevens, Verchio, Westra, Wink.
Needs to be done before the committee meeting tomorrow at 7:45.
Since she is on the committee, you might also ask Langer to pull the bill as she is the main sponsor.
Try 1,500% loans.