With Senate Bill 910's focus on short-term lending practices as unfair trade, consumer advocates entered 2024 hopeful that they would finally see checks on what they consider to be a too- favorable climate for short-term lenders operating in the state.
But even a strong ally in State Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort), the sponsor of S-910, was not enough to get the bill past objections among Senate committee members who considered it.
Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey (R-Edgefield) effectively doomed the bill last week by signaling he would not entertain debate if the bill made it to the Senate floor.
On Wednesday, the bill was read into the record on the floor; on Thursday, it officially died when State Se. Wes Climer (R-York), an opponent of the bill from the outset, objected to it.
Members of the South Carolina Fair Lending Alliance, who helped craft the language of S-910, say they are disappointed, but happy to see the bill get as far as it did., which is further than any lending reform bill has gotten in South Carolina in 14 years.
