SALEM, Ore. -
The legislation transforms Oregon from one of the most payday friendly states in the nation to one of the most strictly regulated-with the exception of 11 states that effectively ban payday lending. It restores a usury law, which legislators scrapped in 1981 during a recession when inflation and interest rates skyrocketed.
The new law caps interest rates on all consumer loans at 30 points above the Federal Reserve discount rate, now at 6.25%. The bill goes back to the House for a vote on minor housekeeping changes, then to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who has said he will sign it into law.
