If Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan wasn’t a huge fan of a tough payday loan bill, he may be now.
Sheridan has admitted to dating a payday loan lobbyist at the same time multiple bills seeking to rein in the controversial industry are pending in the state Legislature. And lobbyists have come out in force to protect the huge profits they make in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin is the only state that doesn’t cap interest rates on these short-term consumer loans, which can charge up to 500% annual interest. Heck, even Donald Rumsfeld’s Defense Department regulated payday lenders located near military bases. And the toughest bill pending in the state Legislature (authored by state Rep. Gordon Hintz) would follow the same guidelines as the Pentagon’s and cap interest rates at 36%.
But that’s not the only bill pending. The other major bill, authored by state Rep. Josh Zepnick, would provide little regulation that the industry couldn’t get around easily. That’s why many consumer advocates regard this bill as the “industry’s bill.” It looks like reform but it isn’t, really. Gov. Doyle vetoed a similar bill in 2004, saying it didn’t go far enough to protect consumers.
So here’s the problem for Sheridan. In the past, he’s supported the 36% cap. Now, though, he thinks it’s too tough. Apparently he had a change of heart sometime last fall. Don’t know if it was before or after he struck up a friendship with the lobbyist, but his flip-flop doesn’t make him look so hot. Appearances count, especially if you're leadership.
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So here’s the kicker. Ironically, Sheridan’s relationship with the payday loan lobbyist could breathe new life into the tougher bill. Now that Sheridan’s admitted to dating the lobbyist, he can’t support the weaker bill. That will prove to his detractors that his personal life is influencing his political judgment, whether it really is or not. If he wants to be seen as an independent kind of guy, he’ll have to allow Hintz’s bill to move forward.
Hintz told Wispolitics that Sheridan has assured him that his bill would move forward.
To be continued….
