UPDATED Thursday, April 22, 2010 --- 10:51 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Payday lenders will be regulated in Wisconsin for the first time following action Thursday by state lawmakers.

After months of debate and fierce lobbying by the industry, the Assembly and Senate passed new regulations on the final day of the legislative session. Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to sign them into law.

Under the plan, loans will be limited to $1,500 or 35 percent of the applicant's monthly income, whichever is less. Borrowers could roll the loans over only once and payday loan stores couldn't be located within 1,500 feet of one another. And auto title loans will be limited to one per customer for no more than 50 percent of the car's value, excluding fees.

Lawmakers said the changes will protect consumers, but advocates for the poor said they do not go far enough.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Thursday, April 22, 2010 --- 2:39 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin state Senate has tweaked a bill regulating the payday lending industry, meaning the Assembly must take another vote on it before it can pass.

Democratic bill sponsor Sen. Jim Sullivan of Wauwatosa says he thinks the Assembly will agree to the changes made by the Senate and pass the bill later on Thursday.

If the Assembly disagrees with the changes, or makes any other changes of its own, the bill will be dead for the year and Wisconsin will remain the only state that doesn't regulate the payday loan industry.

The Senate did agree to most of the changes made earlier by the Assembly to the bill limiting auto title loans to one per person and no more than half of the car's value.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, April 21, 2010 --- 3:45 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- After months of debate, Wisconsin lawmakers appear ready to give final approval to new regulations meant to curb abusive practices in the payday lending industry.

The Wisconsin Senate's calendar for Thursday includes a bill approved early Wednesday in the Assembly that would put limits on where payday lenders can locate and limit the size of loans. The measure also would limit the size of auto title loans to 50 percent of the car's value.

If it passes without amendments, the plan will be on its way to Gov. Jim Doyle to become law. If there are changes, though, the Assembly would need to approve them later Thursday or the bill would die.

The bill is not as strong as some advocates for the poor wanted because it does not include a cap on the interest rates that lenders can charge.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, April 21, 2010 --- 7:25 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The state Assembly has passed a bill that would create Wisconsin's first payday lending regulations.

The plan would prohibit payday lenders from setting up near each other and limit the size of the loans, among other regulations. Democrats amended the measure to impose restrictions on auto title loans as well, including allowing only one loan to a customer at a time and limiting loans to 50 percent of the car's value.

The Assembly passed the measure 60-38. The Senate passed a version last week that did not address auto loans. Both houses must pass identical versions before the bill can go to Gov. Jim Doyle, who can sign the measure into law or veto it.

The governor says he supports any payday lending regulations.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, April 20, 2010 --- 6:58 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Gov. Jim Doyle says he will sign just about any bill the Legislature is able to pass regulating the payday lending bill.

Both houses have passed separate bills and they must agree on an identical version before it can head to Doyle for his consideration.

One of the biggest differences is that the Assembly version would ban car title loans while the Senate one would not.

Doyle says he would like auto title loans to be included in the bill. But he says given that there's currently no regulation of the industry, anything that passes would be better than what's in law now.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Monday, April 19, 2010 --- 8:40 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- With time quickly running out on the legislative session, the state Assembly is scheduled to take up a bill on Tuesday regulating the payday lending industry in Wisconsin for the first time.

Different versions of the bill have passed both the Senate and Assembly already.

But an identical version must clear both houses by Thursday, when the session ends, in order for it to go to Gov. Jim Doyle this year and become law.

There are major differences in what passed both houses. Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker says he thinks the Senate passed a good bill and the Assembly should agree to the changes.

Neither bill includes a rate cap, something advocates for the poor say is necessary to blunt negative effects of the short-term, high-interest loans.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, April 13, 2010 --- 6:36 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Payday loan operations would be subject to new state regulations under a bill that has passed the Wisconsin state Senate.

But the measure that passed on Tuesday would not impose rate caps on the lenders.

That was something that advocates for the poor pushed for, arguing it was needed to stop borrowers from being socked with high interest rates that result in them being caught in spiraling debt.

An attempt to add the rate cap to the bill was rejected 21-12 by the Senate. The bill passed also on a 21-12 vote.

The Assembly passed another version of the bill earlier this year. Lawmakers will have to reach agreement on a version that can pass both the Senate and Assembly before the session ends April 22 before it goes to Gov. Jim Doyle.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, April 13, 2010---10:10 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A bipartisan group of state lawmakers along with a number of advocacy groups are pushing for a 36 percent rate cap on payday loans in Wisconsin.

The state Senate was scheduled to vote on a payday loan regulation bill Tuesday. But that bill does not currently include a rate cap. A similar version that already passed the Assembly also does not have a rate cap.

Groups including the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families and AARP scheduled a news conference just hours before the Senate was to take up the bill to push for the rate cap.

Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman of West Bend and Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee say an amendment will be introduced to institute the rate cap.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Sunday, April 11, 2010 --- 8:36 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin state Senate is scheduled to vote on a bill Tuesday that would regulate the payday lending industry for the first time.

The bill before the Senate differs in several key ways from another version that has already passed the Assembly.

Lawmakers must reach a consensus on the two plans before it heads to Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle for his consideration. He supports regulating the industry.

The Senate bill by Democratic Sen. Jim Sullivan of Wauwatosa would restrict where payday loan stores can locate and limits the size of loans.

The Assembly bill that passed in February limits the size of loans and imposes other restrictions.

Neither proposal has a cap on the interest rates that can be charged.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Monday, March 1, 2010 --- 8:50 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A new analysis shows that lobbyists for the payday lending industry funneled more than $28,000 in campaign contributions to Wisconsin lawmakers in the last half of 2009.

The report by the government watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign shows that $5,000 in contributions came from executives of Check 'n Go in Cincinnati. Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan was dating a lobbyist for that company during the time the Assembly was considering a bill the payday loan industry, including Check N Go, opposes.

The contributions were made to four campaign committees that raise and spend money to get Republicans and Democrats in both the Assembly and Senate elected. Sheridan controls the Assembly Democratic committee.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, February 16, 2010 --- 11:16 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin would no longer be the "Wild West" of payday lending under an Assembly bill approved Tuesday evening to regulate the industry for the first time.

Supporters said the bill, approved after hours of debate and closed-door discussions, would outlaw the industry's most abusive practices while preserving the short-term loans for those who need them.

Critics hit the bill from two angles. Some said the proposed rules were too strict and would hurt existing lenders and take away the payday loan option for some consumers.

But other critics said the bill was too lenient because it does not include a cap on the interest rate lenders can charge. The Assembly voted down a plan to impose a 36 percent rate cap.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Wednesday, February 10, 2010 --- 12:11 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Assembly Republicans are accusing Democrats of rushing through a bill to regulate the payday loan industry in Wisconsin.

The Assembly committee on financial institutions voted 6-5 along party lines to support the plan that would cap loans at $600, allow borrowers to take out one payday loan at a time and ban auto title loans.

The full Assembly could pass the bill as early as Tuesday.

Republican lawmakers argued the bill was flawed and the public should have more time to consider the plan unveiled late last week. Among other things, they raised concerns about a $1 fee that could be charged for each transaction to pay for a statewide database tracking the loans.

But Democrats said the industry desperately needs regulation, and accused Republicans of wanting to kill the bill.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, February 9. 2010 --- 11:15 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Payday lenders could not loan customers more than $600 at a time and would have to disclose all fees and interest rates under a revised Assembly bill.

The proposal unveiled Tuesday seeks to rein in the payday lending industry after years of virtually unchecked growth in Wisconsin. It comes less than two weeks after Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan admitted dating a lobbyist for the industry.

The plan would not put any cap on the annual interest rates that lenders could charge on loans, unlike a previous bill that would have limited them to 36 percent.

But lenders would be barred from "rolling over" a customer's outstanding loan into a new, larger loan, a practice that critics say traps the poor in a crushing debt cycle.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Tuesday, February 9, 2010 --- 6:15 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Details of a proposal to increase regulations on payday lending in Wisconsin were slated to be unveiled less than two weeks after Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan admitted dating a lobbyist for the industry.

Democratic lawmakers who have been working on a compromise since October planned a Tuesday morning news conference to release details of the plan.

The status of the bill has come under greater scrutiny since Democratic Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan of Janesville admitted last month to dating a lobbyist who was working against more regulations.

Sheridan has denied that the relationship affected the status of the proposal.

Wisconsin is the only state that does not set a rate cap for payday lenders, fueling rapid growth of the industry.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Thursday, September 17, 2009 --- 8:30 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A national group is urging Wisconsin lawmakers to pass a bill that caps interest rates on payday loans at 36 percent.

Jennifer Johnson, an attorney with the Center for Responsible Lending, told lawmakers Wednesday that interest rates can reach more than 500 percent on the loans in Wisconsin. The interest often amounts to $22 or more per $100 short-term loan.

Johnson says the loans are structured so that someone earning $35,000 a year typically cannot pay them back on time. She says the only effective way to stop "the abusive practices of this product" is by implementing a rate cap.

Payday lenders are fighting to defeat the 36 percent cap. They say it would kill their industry, denying consumers access to credit and eliminating jobs.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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UPDATED Thursday, September 10, 2009 --- 8:15 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A watchdog group says payday lenders trying to avoid tighter regulations donated more than $140,000 to the governor and legislative candidates last year.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says payday lenders have given an additional $28,000 in the first six months of this year as lawmakers consider tight regulations that would kill their business model.

Lawmakers are considering a plan that would prohibit lenders from charging more than 36 percent annual interest rates, which supporters say would protect consumers from predatory practices.

Industry groups say the bill would shut down existing lenders and take away a popular source of credit for consumers who need quick cash. They are mounting a lobbying blitz to defeat the bill.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009 -- 5:15pm
By Zac Schultz

Madison: You don't have to drive too far in Madison to find a payday loan store. You'll find them near troubled neighborhoods, three within a block of each other on East Washington Avenue, two on Park Street and one just a block off Allied Drive.

Their numbers have exploded in the last decade, from 17 in 1995 to more than 530 today.

Rep. Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh) would like to see the numbers go down. "We're saying that it's wrong to take advantage of people in difficult or desperate situations with a system of abusive fees and charges designed to maximize profits from people who can least afford it."

They make money by giving small loans for high fees. Most loans need to be paid back in two weeks or the loan is rolled over for an additional fee.

Hintz says the average annual interest rate in Wisconsin is 525%. "I have people that call our offices that say, 'I took out a $200 loan, now owe several thousand dollars and it's crippled my life.'"

John Huebscher is the director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference. He says they deal with the fallout. "One-third of the families helped by the LaCrosse Catholic Charities in the debt management program is there in part because of a payday loan."

Rep. Hintz would cap interest at 36%.

Industry lobbyists say that could put them out of business.

"If the only way to stay open is to keep people in a perpetual cycle of debt, as a way to stay open, then I'm not sure they should be open," says Hintz.

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Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009 --- 11:40 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced a bill meant to stop the growing and virtually unregulated payday lending industry.

Key Democratic lawmakers on Thursday promoted the plan that would prohibit lenders from charging more than 36 percent interest rates on loans.

Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, says some payday lenders charge up to 525 percent annual interest rate, or $20 for a two-week $100 loan. He says more than 500 payday lenders operate in Wisconsin.

Payday loans are small, short-term loans with high interest rates that amount to advances on a borrower's next paycheck. Supporters of the lenders say they are often the only access to credit for low-income people.

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.