Mississippi lawmakers to vote on short term lending law

In Mississippi, the state legislature will soon vote whether or not to pass a short term lending reform act, which lowers the state's 572 percent equivalent interest rate. The Clarion Ledger reports that Housing Banking Committee chairman George Flaggs announced that the House would be voting on whether to lower the rate. Flaggs said that while there was still some disagreement among his colleagues, the bill would be beneficial to the people of the state. "I can't write a perfect bill, but I think this bill is fair to both sides," said Flaggs in an interview with the news source. "I think it's going to be a model." But some said that it did not go far enough, and that the state still had some of the least favorable rates compared to neighboring states. In an interview with the paper, Ed Sivak, director of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center, said that the "maximum fee on a short term loan will remain the highest among our surrounding states." One local city in Mississippi made short term lending headlines after reversing a lending resolution. The Laurel Call Leader reports that the Laurel City Council decided to reverse a decision to take legal action against predatory lenders after there was lobbying from those in the short term lending industry.