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In a setback for Alabama borrowers, Senate committee blocks payday lending reform bill
Nearly three in four Alabamians support a strict 36% interest rate cap on payday loans. But public sentiment wasn’t enough Wednesday to convince a state Senate committee to approve even a modest new consumer protection. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted 8-6 against SB 58, also known as the 30 Days to Pay bill. [...]
Blog
Arise legislative recap: Feb. 7, 2020
The Alabama Legislature's 2020 regular session has begun, and we're excited about the opportunities ahead to make life better for struggling Alabamians. Arise's Pres Harris explains why we need you with us at Legislative Day on Feb. 25. She also highlights some early progress on payday lending reform.
Blog
Arise 2020: Our vision for a better Alabama
Alabama Arise members have worked for more than three decades to build a brighter, more inclusive future for our state. And as the Legislature’s 2020 regular session starts Tuesday, we’re proud to renew that commitment. Below, Arise executive director Robyn Hyden highlights some key goals for the session, including Medicaid expansion and untaxing groceries. How [...]
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Arise 2020: Stop the debt trap for Alabama payday borrowers
A small loan shouldn’t be a sentence to months or years of deep debt. Everyone who needs to borrow money should have a reasonable pathway to repaying a loan without excessive costs. But in Alabama, high-cost payday loans cost struggling people tens of millions of dollars every year. As our recent report with Alabama Appleseed [...]
News Releases
Alabama Arise members vow to renew ‘untax groceries’ push in 2020
Ending the state sales tax on groceries is one of the top goals on Alabama Arise’s 2020 legislative agenda. Nearly 200 Arise members picked the organization’s issue priorities at its annual meeting Saturday in Montgomery. The seven issues chosen were: Tax reform, including untaxing groceries and ending the state’s upside-down deduction for federal income taxes, [...]
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Learn more about Arise’s 2020 issue proposals
Grassroots democracy will be on display when Alabama Arise members choose our 2020 issue priorities at our annual meeting Sept. 7 in Montgomery. The following proposals will be up for a vote for our 2020 legislative agenda. Housing Trust Fund revenue Voting rights Criminal justice debt reform Death penalty reform Payday and title lending reform [...]
Blog
CFPB’s move to gut consumer protections shows need for state-level payday lending reform
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) should serve consumers, not the industries it regulates. That’s why Alabama Arise submitted a comment last week objecting to the CFPB’s plan to reverse an important consumer protection. And that’s why Arise will continue to push for needed reforms at the Legislature. The federal ability-to-repay rule, set to take [...]
Fact Sheet
Federal ability-to-repay rule protects payday borrowers, Alabama Arise tells CFPB
Director Kathleen Kraninger: I read with disappointment your recent proposal to rescind the thoroughly considered, factually grounded Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule provision mandating ability-to-repay determinations by lenders offering payday, title and balloon loans. As a policy organization working to advance the public good in a state with wholly insufficient consumer protections for borrowers, [...]
Blog
Arise legislative recap: May 10, 2019
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is threatening to reverse a rule that promotes financial security for borrowers across the country. This week, we look at the CFPB’s proposal to eliminate a requirement for payday lenders to determine whether borrowers have the ability to repay before lending to them. Arise’s Mike Nicholson discusses this proposed [...]
Blog
Payday lending is crushing Alabama communities. Our new report offers solutions
Alabama has more payday and title lenders than hospitals, high schools, movie theaters and county courthouses combined. The industry churns a profit out of desperate, financially fragile borrowers. And unfortunately, Alabama’s weak consumer protections provide them with plenty. We explore these problems in depth and offer policy solutions in “Broke: How Payday Lenders Crush Alabama [...]