CoPIRG backed legislation passes 33-30 DENVER— The Colorado House of Representatives today passed House Bill 1310. Sponsored by Representative Mark Ferrandino and Senate President Peter Groff, the policy limits the amount of interest payday lenders can charge consumers and now goes to the Senate for review.
“HB 1310 will protect consumers from entering into a cycle of debilitating debt,” stated Kirpal Singh, Staff Attorney of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG). “The borrowers at ‘payday lending’ outfits are often middle to low income families who need a small boost to make ends meet. These families think they’re getting a short-term loan, but most will end up with serious, long-term debt. The average borrower faces such high interest rates that they have to roll over the loan 6 times on average. A two-week loan turns into a three-month loan, and with interest rates of up to 500 percent, the borrower is quickly paying more in interest than the original amount of the loan.”
HB 1310, known as the Colorado Payday Lending Reform Act, caps annual interest rates at 45% and allows lenders to charge no more than a one-time $60 finance fee per 12 months on all payday loans.
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CoPIRG is the Colorado Public Interest Research Group. CoPIRG is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. CoPIRG's mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects consumers, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government.
