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Initiated Measure 21: 36% Rate Cap on Payday Loans

South Dakota citizens petitioned for Initiated Measure 21 to stop payday lenders from taking advantage of customers with triple-digit interest rates. IM 21 is sponsored by former Republican legislator Rev. Steve Hickey, former Democratic consultant and now café owner Steve Hildebrand, and economics professor Reynold Nesiba.

Key Provisions:

  1. IM 21 caps all charges for loans, including interest, fees, and any other charges, at an annual rate of 36%.
  2. This 36% cap applies only to loans from payday and title lenders, not to traditional banks and credit unions.

Click for Full Text: Initiated Measure 21, “An initiated measure to set a maximum finance charge for certain licensed money lenders.”

Read More:

  1. Lee Strubinger, “Initiated Measure 21 Caps South Dakota’s Interest Rate at 36 Percent,” SDPB Radio, 2016.09.02.
  2. Liz Farmer, “Like the Industry, Payday Loan Ballot Measures Mislead Voters,” Governing, 2016.08.24.
  3. Ken Santema, “A Look at Initiated Measure 21, 36% Payday Lender Cap,” SoDakLiberty, 2016.08.09.
  4. John Tsitrian, “Payday Limits Could Kill Industry,” Rapid City Journal, 2016.06.22.
  5. Presentation Sisters’ Justice Commission: Sisters Gabriella Crowley, Kathleen Bierne and Pat Prunty, “Why Cap Payday Loan Interest Rates at 36 Per Cent?” Presentation Sisters website, 2016.02.15.
  6. Articles about predatory lending from IM 21 ballot question committee South Dakotans for Responsible Lending
  7. Dakota Free Press coverage of Initiated Measure 21
  8. Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce issue brief on payday lending ballot measures, August 2016
  9. C.A. Heidelberger, “Payday Lenders Count on Trapping Customers in Abusive Cycle of Debt,” Dakota Free Press, 2015.06.13