Attorney General Candidates Debate Payday Loans
By Paul RizzoPayday Loan Writer
The candidates for Arkansas attorney general debated a variety of issues Tuesday, including the state's role in addressing illegal immigration and whether or not they'd limit payday cash loan lending.
The hour-long debate among Republican Gunner DeLay, Democrat Dustin McDaniel and Green Party candidate Rebekah Kennedy was aired on the Arkansas Educational Television Network.
The three candidates each said they would support legislation limiting bad credit payday loan lenders from charging interest rates beyond the constitutional limit.
Delay noted that McDaniel has taken donations from payday advance lending companies. But McDaniel responded that the donations amounted to less than "one-tenth of 1 percent" of the total he has accumulated for his campaign.
"No contribution from anyone" would affect his decision-making as attorney general, McDaniel said.
Kennedy noted that DeLay voted for the original payday lending law when he was in the Senate. DeLay said he voted for the legislation because he felt payday lending institutions needed to be regulated. He said they are necessary because some people have no credit, or poor credit, and can't get small loans from banks.
He said the mistake he made was supporting the bill that classified the amount of money providers of cash advance loans can charge for loans as a fee, rather than as interest.
