WA Senate vote is blow to payday lending bill

A bill that would impose tighter regulations on the payday lending industry in Washington has been dealt a blow by the state Senate.

Last week, senators voted to strip a House bill of regulations that proponents had described as a compromise between the payday lending industry and consumer advocates. The House rejected the Senate's amendment and asked the upper chamber to drop the changes.

In a 25-24 vote on Wednesday, the Senate rejected the House's request. The fate of the bill is now unclear.

Before the Senate's amendment, the measure proposed limiting the size of a payday loan to 30 percent of a person's monthly income or $700 - whichever is less; barring people from having multiple loans at different payday companies, and setting up a database to track the number of loans taken out by individuals.

Bill sponsor Rep. Sharon Nelson, D-Vashon, says she will ask the House to back the measure again and resend it to the Senate.