HB 19-43: Loan Shark Prevention Act (Debating)

[Esteemed Jimmy]

SENATE BILL
To protect consumers from usury
Be it enacted in both Houses of Congress

Section 1; Title
1. This legislation may be cited as the "Loan Shark Prevention Act".
Section 2; Substance
1. Annual percentage rates (APR)on credit cards shall be capped at a maximum of 17%.
a) If state or regional laws prescribe a lower cap, then nothing in this legislation shall prevent the lower cap applying instead of the 17% cap.
b) Any fees that are not considered finance charges shall not be used to evade the limitations of this paragraph, and the total sum of such fees shall not exceed the total amount of finance charges assessed.
c) The maximum APR for super prime credit holders shall be set to 13%
d) The maximum APR for prime credit holders shall be set to 15%
e) The maximum APR for all other credit holders shall be set to 17%
2. The Federal Reserve shall have the authority to waive the prescribed 17% interest rate cap for a maximum of 18 months if-
a) A determination is made that prevailing interest rate levels seriously threaten the safety and soundness of individual lenders, as evidenced by meaningful adverse trends in liquidity, capital, earnings and growth.
b) This clause shall not affect the regulations regarding credit unions.
3. If a fee or interest rate greater than the cap prescribed in this legislation is knowingly charged to consumers, the entire interest shall be forfeited.
a) A usurious collection that is forbidden by this legislation shall be able to be entirely recovered from the lender provided that a legal action is brought no later than 2 years after the date on which the last usurious collection was made.
b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pre-empt state or regional laws that provide greater consumer protection than in this legislation.
Section 3; Implementation
1. This legislation shall come into effect one year after its passage into law.

People's Regional Senate
Passed 4-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,

Sponsor: YE
House Designation: HB 19-43

[Esteemed Jimmy]

This needs a sponsor.

[YE]

I'll sponsor.

[Dr. MB]

Looks like a great bill.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

YE is now recognized as the sponsor.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Looks like a great bill.

[JGibson]

This is a great bill that needs to be supported.

[Dr. MB]

Motioning for a final vote

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Motioning for a final vote

Representatives have 24 hours for objections.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

A final vote has begun on this bill. Please vote AYE, NAY, or ABSTAIN.

SENATE BILL
To protect consumers from usury
Be it enacted in both Houses of Congress

Section 1; Title
1. This legislation may be cited as the "Loan Shark Prevention Act".
Section 2; Substance
1. Annual percentage rates (APR)on credit cards shall be capped at a maximum of 17%.
a) If state or regional laws prescribe a lower cap, then nothing in this legislation shall prevent the lower cap applying instead of the 17% cap.
b) Any fees that are not considered finance charges shall not be used to evade the limitations of this paragraph, and the total sum of such fees shall not exceed the total amount of finance charges assessed.
c) The maximum APR for super prime credit holders shall be set to 13%
d) The maximum APR for prime credit holders shall be set to 15%
e) The maximum APR for all other credit holders shall be set to 17%
2. The Federal Reserve shall have the authority to waive the prescribed 17% interest rate cap for a maximum of 18 months if-
a) A determination is made that prevailing interest rate levels seriously threaten the safety and soundness of individual lenders, as evidenced by meaningful adverse trends in liquidity, capital, earnings and growth.
b) This clause shall not affect the regulations regarding credit unions.
3. If a fee or interest rate greater than the cap prescribed in this legislation is knowingly charged to consumers, the entire interest shall be forfeited.
a) A usurious collection that is forbidden by this legislation shall be able to be entirely recovered from the lender provided that a legal action is brought no later than 2 years after the date on which the last usurious collection was made.
b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pre-empt state or regional laws that provide greater consumer protection than in this legislation.
Section 3; Implementation
1. This legislation shall come into effect one year after its passage into law.

[Dr. MB]

Aye

[JGibson]

AYE

[fhtagn]

Abstain.

[Attorney General, Senator-Elect, & Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Aye

[YE]

Let me advocate for this. lol I am sort of behind.

[YE]

This caps credit card interest rates at 13-17% outside of certain circumstances and penalizes companies who seek to break this rule.

[YE]

Aye

[Dr. MB]

this should have passed

[YE]

We need a VP.

[RC (a la Frémont)]

We need a VP.

Shouldn’t there have been at least an acting VP?

[YE]

We need a VP.

Shouldn’t there have been at least an acting VP?

Think it’s technically up to Razze to administer stuff since he’s the dean and there’s no VP and speaker.

[Dr. MB]

We need a VP.

Shouldn’t there have been at least an acting VP?

Think it’s technically up to Razze to administer stuff since he’s the dean and there’s no VP and speaker.

Doesn't matter now since Pericles has been confirmed.

[YE]

We need a VP.

Shouldn’t there have been at least an acting VP?

Think it’s technically up to Razze to administer stuff since he’s the dean and there’s no VP and speaker.

Doesn't matter now since Pericles has been confirmed.

Has he sworn in?

[Pericles]

Ideally in future a majority of the House should vote for a bill if it passes, for slots I administer I plan to extend votes in those circumstances. However it would be a mess extending this one and would probably mean we need to restart the vote, I don't want that so I'll make an exception in this instance.

This bill passes 4-0-1-4.
Aye; 4 (MB, JGibson, Wulfric, YE)
Nay; 0
Abstaining; 1 (fhtagn)
Not voting; 4 (Razze, Tea Party Hater, Alancia, lfromnj)

As this vote was taken in the 19th Congress, those not-voting will be the 19th Congress Representatives who missed the vote.

[Pericles]

AN ACT OF CONGRESS
To protect consumers from usury
Be it enacted in both Houses of Congress

Section 1; Title
1. This legislation may be cited as the "Loan Shark Prevention Act".
Section 2; Substance
1. Annual percentage rates (APR)on credit cards shall be capped at a maximum of 17%.
a) If state or regional laws prescribe a lower cap, then nothing in this legislation shall prevent the lower cap applying instead of the 17% cap.
b) Any fees that are not considered finance charges shall not be used to evade the limitations of this paragraph, and the total sum of such fees shall not exceed the total amount of finance charges assessed.
c) The maximum APR for super prime credit holders shall be set to 13%
d) The maximum APR for prime credit holders shall be set to 15%
e) The maximum APR for all other credit holders shall be set to 17%
2. The Federal Reserve shall have the authority to waive the prescribed 17% interest rate cap for a maximum of 18 months if-
a) A determination is made that prevailing interest rate levels seriously threaten the safety and soundness of individual lenders, as evidenced by meaningful adverse trends in liquidity, capital, earnings and growth.
b) This clause shall not affect the regulations regarding credit unions.
3. If a fee or interest rate greater than the cap prescribed in this legislation is knowingly charged to consumers, the entire interest shall be forfeited.
a) A usurious collection that is forbidden by this legislation shall be able to be entirely recovered from the lender provided that a legal action is brought no later than 2 years after the date on which the last usurious collection was made.
b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to pre-empt state or regional laws that provide greater consumer protection than in this legislation.
Section 3; Implementation
1. This legislation shall come into effect one year after its passage into law.

People's Regional Senate
Passed 4-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,

People's House of Representatives
Passed 4-0-1-4 in the Atlasian House Assembled