Rep. Troy Kelley introduced a measure to protect consumers statewide by helping prevent out-of-state Internet payday lenders from doing business illegally in Washington.“We have made great strides to protect Washington consumers throughout the past several years,” Kelley said. “If out-of-state Internet payday lenders want to do business here, they must abide by our rules.”
Today, unlicensed Internet payday lending is deemed a gross misdemeanor and a violation of the Consumer Protection Act. However, prosecutors rarely take up misdemeanor cases that cross state lines. Kelley’s House Bill 1805 cracks down on those illegal out-of-state lenders by making unlicensed payday lending an unranked class B felony and raising the bar on enforcement. Licensed payday lenders are not impacted by the new measure so it means business as usual for payday lenders who choose to abide by the current law.
“This is a new tool to better enforce our current laws,” Kelley said. “A few of these illegal lenders are out of the country, and I think they are beyond our reach. However, others are just beyond our borders, and we must do what we can to stop them.”
Click here to read more about Kelley’s House Bill 1805 and other efforts to protect consumers.
