Keizer Decides Against Local Payday Loan Ordinance, Will Wait for State Law to Take Effect
By J.J. CameronPayday Loan Writer
In Oregon, a state law restriction the use of payday loans will take effect next year. But for some in Keizer, that wasn't good enough. They pushed for payday loan reform in the city now!
They didn't get it, however.
Town leaders have decided that a state law restricting cash loans is enough for their city, even though it won't go into effect until next summer.
The City Council voted 5-2 Monday against further discussion of a separate law with an earlier time frame, said Keizer City Councilor Charles Lee, who proposed the ordinance.
"I'm disappointed that we won't give citizens a chance to look at this in more depth," Lee said.
Similar ordinances are in effect in Bend, Oregon City, Silverton, Troutdale, Gresham and Portland.
"The (state) law is one of the most restrictive in the country," said councilor Troy Nichols, who voted against considering an ordinance for Keizer. "We only have three (instant payday loan lenders) in Keizer that offer those types of loans."
Therfore, the board didn't consider it worth its time to enact regulations for the local cash advance industry. Councilor Richard Walsh was the only other city councilor to vote in favor of taking a closer look.
"I think there's an issue there," he said. "Whether we needed to do more than what the Legislature has already done, I don't know, but I was in favor of looking into it."
In the end, despite growing concern over low fee payday loans in the area, it was decided to simply wait a year until all of Oregon was covered by new laws.
"To waste staff time to deal with this when an ordinance doing the same thing will go into effect in a few months is a tremendous waste of time," Nichols said.
