by Marc Kovac
Capital Bureau chief
Columbus -- Payday lending proponents submitted nearly 220,000 additional signatures to the Secretary of State Oct. 1, with hopes of solidifying their November ballot issue.
Ohioans for Financial Freedom, also known as the Committee to Reject House Bill 545, turned in a total of 218,855 signatures a couple of days before a state-set deadline.
Kevin Kidder, a spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office, confirmed the submission and said the petitions would be forwarded to county boards of elections for review. That process will be completed by this week, when an ultimate decision will be known whether the payday lending issue will appear on the ballot.
House Bill 545 was signed by the governor in June. Among other provisions, it caps the interest rates charged on payday loans at 28 percent (compared to nearly 400 percent now) and prohibits lenders from adding additional fees, interest or costs.
Proponents of the new law believe changes are needed to stop the proliferation of payday loan storefronts and protect residents who get trapped in lending cycles -- taking out one two-week payday loan after another and getting strapped with high fees and annual percentage rates.
Opponents have said the bill will devastate the payday loan industry, likely closing locations and costing 6,000-plus Ohioans their jobs. They also have questioned where people strapped for cash and facing emergencies would go for smaller, short-term loans.
The ballot issue would be in the form of a referendum. Proponents of the legislation regulating payday lending activities would have to vote "yes" to retain the law as-is. Opponents of the law would have to vote "no" to overturn portions of the new law, including those related to the interest rates lenders are allowed to charge.
Ohioans for Financial Freedom earlier submitted more than 400,000 signatures to place the issue on the November ballot, but the Secretary of State's Office determined only about 186,000 of those were valid.
The group had 10 days to collect an additional 55,635 signatures, with adequate numbers verified in 44 counties.
Kim Norris, a spokeswoman for the group, said in a released statement, "With more than 600,000 signatures, it's clear Ohioans are enthusiastic about a Vote No on Issue 5 because they are tired of government inserting itself where it is not needed. Ohioans clearly want to keep their private financial decisions private, and 6,000 good paying jobs in the state."
Marc Kovac is the Dix Newspapers Capital Bureau chief. E-mail him at mkovac@dixcom.com.