State candidates take on pay-day loans

If the county annex was packed with voters for the Ottawa candidates forum, it also was packed with legislative candidates.

Because 10 legislative candidates in five representative and senatorial districts showed up, forum organizers divided them in two groups of five candidates each and had two legislative forums Tuesday, splitting it so each races’ opponents were split into different groups, with mostly incumbents in one group and mostly challengers in the other.

For such a large field, the largest unanimity came from their willingness to impose limits on high-interest, short-term loans called pay-day loans and title loans.

The candidates all deplored the ruinous interest charged to vulnerable customers for pay-day loans and particularly title loans, in which the person getting a loan signs over their vehicle’s title as collateral.

John Coen, R-Wellsville, candidate for Kansas House District 10, noted that one of his employees, who had gotten a title loan and missed a payment, had his vehicle repossessed while it was parked at Coen’s dairy while the employee was milking Coen’s cows. The employee had no way to get home or get back to work, he said.

“I either had to pay off that loan or have him not being able to come to work,” Coen said. “It was a business expense I hadn’t planned on.”

Probably the most nuanced answer came from Rep. Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett, who took part in a special committee hearing this summer on pay day and title loans.

“The pay day loans are bad; the title loans are terrible,” he said.

One hearing was packed by people from Sedgwick County who testified against limits against pay day loan companies, he said.

“Everyone was against it even though they were the people who use them,” Feuerborn said. “They said that they can’t get loans any other way.”

The best answer might be to encourage banks to loosen up their rules for small emergency loans and provide competition to pay-day loan companies, he said.

“I think that we could put them out of business if you did it that way,” he said.

In state legislative races, Sen. Pat Apple, R-Louisburg, is being challenged by Andrew Rickel, D-Garnett, in the 12th Senate District. Sen. Derek Schmidt, R-Independence and who represents southwestern Franklin County, is unopposed.

In area state representative races, Democratic incumbent  Feuerborn  is being challenged by Cara Polsley, Ottawa Republican, in the 5th House District, which includes southern Ottawa and much of southern Franklin County.

In the 10th House District, which includes northern Ottawa and northern Franklin County including Wellsville, Coen and Tony Brown, D-Baldwin City, are seeking the seat being vacated by Tom Holland.

In the 5th District covering southwestern Franklin County, Republican incumbent Bill Otto, LeRoy, is being challenged by Democrat Jon Dunbar, Colony.

In the 59th District, covering western Franklin County, Democrat Jim Irey, Melvern, and Will Prescott, R-Osage City, are vying for the seat vacated by Joe Humerickhouse.

On other issues:

• Cutting personal property taxes on vehicles, especially for senior citizens.

Polsley said she would support such a tax cut.

However, Feuerborn, her opponent, said it would be unlikely that legislators would approve such a cut.

Such reductions would hit hardest at counties and cities, which depend on property tax levies and would force them to raise taxes somewhere else.

Prescott said that in addition to counties and cities losing money from such reductions, it would be difficult for counties to track who should be getting the exemptions.

Irey said such reductions would force counties to raise taxes elsewhere or cut services.

• Coal-fired power plants in western Kansas, which dominated last year’s session and could likely overshadow the next.

Most legislators expressed support for the coal plants or said they would vote for it.

Brown was one of the few expressing skepticism about the plan.

Brown said that Sebelius had offered a compromise that would have allowed the building of one plant, with most of the energy to be sold in Kansas.

The state also needs to do more to encourage wind, solar and other alternative forms of power, he said.

Feuerborn said the legislature should have been dealing with health care instead of letting the coal plants dominate the session. However, he said he voted to approve the power plants and voted to override Sebelius’ veto.

The utilities followed all the rules and met the pertinent standards but at the last minute, Rod Bremby, secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, rejected the permits for the plants, Feuerborn said.

• How to cut state budgets, if necessary.

Otto aid the number of state buildings and the size of state government operations based in Topeka have proliferated over the years.

“We’re economic development for the city of Topeka,” he said.

Dunbar said Sebelius’ review of state spending has created a lean government.

Many state agencies pad their budgets and legislators should look for that extra money built into budgets, Coen said.

Brown said he’s concerned about overenthusiastic granting of tax credits to various businesses and industries.