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Rep. Sharon Nelson, serving the 34th District Serving West Seattle, White Center, Burien, and Vashon and Maury Islands. |
House passes landmark law on payday lending
Nelson: this is about protecting working families
March 9, 2009
OLYMPIA -- The House of Representatives
passed legislation by Rep. Sharon Nelson, D-Maury Island, which will protect
consumers who take out payday loans and give them more options to pay off
payday loans.
“Too many working families have seen a single payday
loan turn into a spiral of debt that they can never climb out of,” Nelson
said. “Once a family cannot repay the loan, there has to be a path for them
to get out of debt. This law creates that path and provides common sense
protections for consumers.”
Lawmakers voted 84-10 early Tuesday
morning on the Fair Loan Act of 2009
(HB 1709), which is now being considered in the senate.
The new
law requires payday lenders to offer payment plans to borrowers who can’t
repay their loans. It also blocks borrowers from receiving more than eight
loans each year or taking out a new loan before the first loan is repaid.
“Right now, many borrowers take out a second loan to pay off the first –
and often a third loan, and a fourth,” Nelson sad. “This legislation is
about breaking that cycle.”