WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts praised Ohio legislators today for passing H.B. 123 out of a key House committee, a long overdue step toward reforming the state’s payday loan industry. The provisions included in the bill would close the credit services organization loophole, give borrowers more time to repay, and achieve lower prices. The bipartisan bill was first introduced in March 2017 and has since been stalled in committee—a delay that has cost Ohio borrowers more than $75 million.
Nick Bourke, director of Pew’s consumer finance project, said of House legislators’ action on H.B. 123:
“The movement by members of the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee to advance H.B. 123 to the House floor is a promising sign for Ohioans who have waited far too long to see practical reforms that will bring down the prices of the state’s high-cost payday loans. This bill contains a range of important consumer safeguards and closes a loophole that for a decade has allowed payday lenders to charge Ohio families the highest rates in the nation.
“Each day that passes without safeguards on payday loans drains more than $200,000 from Ohio families. We encourage the Ohio House of Representatives to act swiftly and send this bill to the state Senate so families do not have to wait any longer for reform.”
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More information on small-dollar loans is available at www.pewtrusts.org/small-dollar-loans.
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