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:
- IM 21 caps all charges for loans, including interest, fees, and any other charges, at an annual rate of 36%.
- 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:
- Lee Strubinger, “Initiated Measure 21 Caps South Dakota’s Interest Rate at 36 Percent,” SDPB Radio, 2016.09.02.
- Liz Farmer, “Like the Industry, Payday Loan Ballot Measures Mislead Voters,” Governing, 2016.08.24.
- Ken Santema, “A Look at Initiated Measure 21, 36% Payday Lender Cap,” SoDakLiberty, 2016.08.09.
- John Tsitrian, “Payday Limits Could Kill Industry,” Rapid City Journal, 2016.06.22.
- 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.
- Articles about predatory lending from IM 21 ballot question committee South Dakotans for Responsible Lending
- Dakota Free Press coverage of Initiated Measure 21
- Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce issue brief on payday lending ballot measures, August 2016
- C.A. Heidelberger, “Payday Lenders Count on Trapping Customers in Abusive Cycle of Debt,” Dakota Free Press, 2015.06.13