Committee Chairman Kills Divisive Payday Lending Bill

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana Senate committee chairman has killed a payday lending bill that critics charge would have allowed predatory lending practices.

A spokesman for Republican Sen. Mark Messmer said Tuesday that the Jasper Republican ruled out giving the bill a hearing in his Commerce and Technology committee. That effectively killed the bill, which was previously approved by the House.

Messmer's decision comes after the Senate leader David Long of Fort Wayne said that he is "not of big fan" of the bill. It was also opposed by faith-based groups.

It's a felony under state law to offer loans with an annual percentage rate over 72 percent. But the bill would create a new type of payday loan that would have allowed for annual percentage rates of up to 222 percent.