South Carolina Capitol Building

Legislators have been laying the smack down on the payday loan industry in South Carolina lately. However, today it appears they might be willing to ease up a bit.

The regulations moving through the Senate included a provision that limits the total amount of a payday loan to 25 percent of the person’s income. A Senate committee today voted to take that provision out.

Most limits intact

The regulations before the Senate still contain most of the original limits they set out to place. Payday loans cannot be given in amounts higher than $500. It also adds a two-day cooling off period, during which a borrower cannot take out another payday loan after paying one off.

No limit to limits?

Some members of the South Carolina Senate say that the payday loan regulations simply don’t go far enough.

“This still needs more work,” said Sue Berkowitz, director of the Appleseed Center for Legal Justice in Columbia.

AARP lobbyist Teresa Arnold agreed that the restrictions at this point are not satisfactory. She said the $500 loan limit is still too high, and accused the Senate of moving backward.

A voice for the payday loan business

Jaime Fulmer, spokesman for payday lender Advance America Cash Advance, spoke out in defense of the payday lending industry.

“It still places a whole host  of arbitrary limits on the industry,” he said.

Fewer jobs, fewer options

Already, in other states that have adopted regulations similar to the ones South Carolina is seeking, payday lenders have been run out. Advance America this year had to close down all 24 of its stores in New Hampshire. In a country with an already high unemployment rate, that put 50 more people out of a job.

Some advocates argued in South Carolina argued against the 25 percent of income limit in defense of low-income people. They said the rule would reduce options for poor individuals and families — the people that need help most.