Borrower Protections At Risk

AUSTIN, Texas — Bills are proposed in the Texas Legislature that would undo vital protections for payday and auto-title lending borrowers. The bills, including House Bill 2127 and Senate Bill 149, along with their companion bills, would preempt local governments from acting to protect their residents from abusive payday and auto-title loans.

AARP Texas opposes House Bill 2127 and Senate Bill 149, which are both scheduled for hearings this week by legislative panels. On Tuesday morning, the Senate Business and Commerce Committee is scheduled to hear SB 149; and on Wednesday, the House State Affairs Committee is expected to discuss HB 2127. AARP Texas will testify at the hearings in opposition to the bills.

AARP Texas Director Tina Tran says AARP Texas, a member of the Texas Fair Lending Alliance, supports municipal ordinances that have been put in place since 2011 in 49 Texas cities. The ordinances, which are under threat by HB 2127 and SB 149, offer protections for roughly 11 million Texans in those cities by curbing the loan rates and lending marketing practices in those communities.

“All Texans deserve protections from sky-high lending rates that force too many people into an unbearable cycle of debt,” said Tran. “Local government protections from unscrupulous lending practices need to remain in place to avoid driving vulnerable Texans deeper into poverty and diminishing their prospects for economic growth.”