Like the old Timex ads used to tout, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” That’s how I felt at the State House on Feb. 12. Surrounded by high-powered and high-priced lobbyists, I did all I could to amend a payday lending bill that does very little to regulate the usury industry. In addition to canvassing House members, I worked closely with Rep. Alan Clemmons of Myrtle Beach to amend H3301. Mr. Clemmons bent over backward to find an amendment that the majority of the House would accept.
Joe MackClemmons drafted 15 amendments, hoping that his cohorts could agree on some important points. Although the proposed bill included a database of borrowers, it doubled the amount of money one could borrow. It did nothing to limit the amount of interest payday lenders could charge. At the end of the day, Mr. Clemmons offered six of the 15 drafted amendments, and the air in the chamber weighed heavy for those of us who championed the cause. The bill now moves to the Senate without any significant amendments.
It was one of those times when diverse groups came together to do what was right. The AARP, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina Fair Share, and I pooled our resources to talk to as many representatives as we could. It was interesting to see who supported protection for constituents and who supported the payday lenders. We will follow this bill to the Senate and work to amend it in committee and/or on the Senate floor.
I e-mailed a legislative update on Feb. 19 with a list of the House members who supported the Clemmons amendments a majority of the time. If you are not on our e-mail list, and you would like to receive our updates and alerts, e-mail me at joemack@scbaptist.org and we’ll take care of that for you.
House members who voted at least four times out of six for the Clemmons amendments to H3301 are: Paul Agnew, Mike Anthony, Jimmy Bales, Nathan Ballentine, Liston Barfield, Curtis Brantley, Robert Brown, Alan Clemmons, Bill Clyburn, Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Greg Delleney, Chandra Dillard, Laurie Funderburk, Jerry Govan, Carl Gullick, Anton Gunn, Nelson Hardwick, Cathy Harvin, Kenneth Hodges, Lonnie Hosey, Anne Hutto, John King, Patsy Knight, Joe McEachern, Walt McLeod, Jimmy Neal, Joe Neal, Denny Neilson, Anne Parks, Rex Rice, Gary Simrill, Donald Smith, Thad Viers, Seth Whipper, Robert Williams, Annette Young, and Tom Young.