Ellen Brandom

Good news: "A House-approved payday lending bill is dead for this year, but two senators — one Republican and one Democrat — say they plan to write a much tougher measure in time for next year’s session."

The Post-Dispatch reminds Republicans in the General Assembly that the payday lending reforms proposed by Rep. Mary Still (D-Columbia) and others are patterned after federal legislation credited to Sen. Jim Talent that "limited the financial damage payday-loan companies can inflict on military families."

PAYDAY LOAN HYPOCRISY: MISSOURI GOP FORGETS EXAMPLE SET BY JIM TALENT

...The debate about payday loans shouldn’t be about politics; it should be about fairness and justice.

And that’s why we bring Mr. Talent into the debate. We could bring in former Gov. Matt Blunt, the Republican who sought to remove payday-loan facilities from nursing homes. Or U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, the uber-conservative congressman from Tarkio who sponsored a measure similar to Mr. Talent’s.

"It's an open secret throughout the state that this is a joke...It’s an open secret throughout the state that this is not real reform."

Rep. Jake Zimmerman (R-St. Louis County) on the payday lending legislation pushed by Reps. Don Wells (R-Kwik Kash), Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) and the payday loan industry

It's pretty hard to stand up on the House floor and defend 1564% APR, but Representatives Don Wells (R-Kwik Kash) and Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) did a pretty good job yesterday. They were able to extol the necessity for and the virtue of the sharks in the water of the short term loan. Sandy "I'm a Banker" Crawford (R-Buffalo) said she felt a lot better about payday loans after the March hearing before Financial Institutions. Was it the slick lobbyist, the paid UMKC kU hack economist, or Mr. QC Holdings himself who convinced her that predatory lending is indeed a service all states should want? Maybe it was the expensive shoes, the odd razor haircuts, or the genial repartee that identified the lender as the benevolent banker and stellar community member who is just helping friends and neighbors through a temporary time of need. In order to appear as a serious and respected policy expert, Mr. QC was allowed to testify for informational purposes, not as an advocate, adding a new tool for the promotion of self interest.

Debate became contentious Tuesday afternoon as the bill's detractors explained the "reform" offered by HB656. The truth about the bill was just too much for Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller, and he gaveled the end of debate without a vote. Are there some defenders of the liberty to charge what you want who don't want to go on record supporting such egregious rates? Miss Liberty knows the Industry will decide if a vote is taken.

This weekend in the Post-Dispatch:

Under the guise of “reform,” the Missouri House of Representatives has advanced a bill that actually would loosen restrictions on the payday loan industry. That’s pretty galling, given that Missouri already is one of the friendliest states in the union for short-term lending sharks.

In playing footsie with the payday lending industry — which contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to their campaigns — Missouri lawmakers are bucking a trend in which 17 other states have cracked down on the industry. Included are the rock-ribbed Republican states of Arizona and Montana...

The [House Financial Institutions Committee] vote in favor of the bill [Ellen Brandom's HB656] was 13-3. Among those voting aye was the committee chairman, Republican Don Wells of Cabool, who recently sold his interest in Qwik-Cash of Cabool.

Area Republicans joining Mr. Wells were Scott Dieckhaus of Washington and Vicki Schneider of O’Fallon. Proving that predation knows no party, two area Democrats also voted aye: Jamilah Nasheed of St. Louis and Mary Nichols of Maryland Heights.

They should all be ashamed.

In this weekend's Capitol Watch editorial:

You call this reform?

A bill ostensibly curbing payday lending practices in Missouri finally made it out of a legislative committee. Unfortunately, it’s about as effective as fighting a brush fire with a shot glass.

Rep. Ellen Brandom’s bill, which has cleared the House Financial Institutions Committee, is a short-term lender’s dream. It caps the annual percentage rate on a loan at a mere 1,564 percent, down from the current cap of 1,950 percent. And instead of six rollovers on loans, as Missouri law currently provides, lenders would be restricted to three measly loans.

The lending industry is putting up a token protest. In private, one can picture lenders dancing for joy.

You must read this article. 

Rep. Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) is distributing legislation to House colleagues today that she says would call for "significant reforms" regarding payday lending in Missouri.  But early indications are that its alleged "reforms" are significant only in how little they do to reign in abusive practices. 

According to Rep. Mary Still (D-Columbia), Brandom's "pro-industry bill" would still allow payday loans to have annual percentage rates up to 1,450% (down a smidgen from the current 1,950% maximum).   This would still be the highest allowed rate in the country, followed by Mississippi at a relatively meager 572%.

Who could have guessed that legislation blessed by Speaker Steve Tilley (R-Perryville) and Rep. Don Wells (R-Kwik Kash) would be so awesome?

The Missouri House voted today to make drug tests manadatory for all Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, while excluding lawmakers and tax credit recipients from drug testing.

However, one of the most interesting tidbits came from the bill's sponsor, Rep. Ellen Brandom (R-160).  Brandom said the point of the bill is not to get treatment for those who are abusing drugs.

Here is the quote saved for posterity by The Columbia Tribune's Rudi Keller

They said the point is not to get treatment for those found to be on drugs; the bill requires referrals to treatment programs but does not require it.

“The purpose of my bill was not to expand any drug or emotional treatment because the state, at this point in time, there is no way Missouri can afford any more Medicaid drug treatment,” said the sponsor, Rep. Ellen Brandom, R-Sikeston.

So, let me get this straight. You don't want one specific kind of taxpayer-supported benefits to go to people who abuse drugs, but you also don't want to treat the root of the problem in the first place? Duly noted.

The Star's Barb Shelly asks the obvious question about House Republicans and their attempt to create a poorly-conceived drug testing program for TANF recipients: Have they lost their minds? 

The new program would cost $2M per year (see the fiscal note for HB73 here) -- this clearly contradicts the framework put forward by House Budget Chair Ryan Silvey (R-Kansas City) earlier this month.  As posted outside Silvey's Capitol office: 

Are these rules suspended only when it's time to pick on poor people? 

Rep. Ellen Brandom (R-Sikeston) plans to reintroduce legislation this session that would direct the Department of Social Services to set up a drug-testing program for participants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  The tests would apply only to people for whom the Department decides there is a "reasonable cause" to investigate. If a person fails, they would be ineligible to receive benefits for one year.

Brandom says the bill she'll pre-file for the 2010 session will be be identical to the perfected version from last session (HB30).