Ohio Statehouse

Looking for Factsheets and Reports? Visit COHHIO's Online Library where you will be able to find fact sheets, reports and more information on many of our advocacy topics.

State Issues

Stay tuned to COHHIO for updates on the following advocacy issues:

• HB 486, Payday Lending Reform. In June 2008, in response to excessively high payday lending interest rates, the Ohio Legislature passed House Bill 545, the Short Term Lender Law. HB 545 capped interest rates at 28% APR, down from 391%, on all short-term loans. The industry objected to the law and mounted a referendum campaign, which it lost. In November 2008, 64 percent of the Ohio electorate voted in support of Issue 5, thus affirming HB 545. Days after the election, most payday lenders shifted to other lending statutes, including the Small Loan Act and the Mortgage Loan Act where they were able to legally pack on exorbitant new fees. There are now “Loan Origination fees” and “Credit Report Fees” that are charged as often as every week. There is no rea­son for the customer to be charged these fees more than once in 90 days.
  The industry also charges to cash loan checks and charges a CSO fee. No one could have pre­dicted this lending strategy, but it goes against the intent of the General Assembly and the vote of the people. HB 486, the Small Loan Consumer Protection Act, closes the loopholes that have allowed lenders to avoid regulation for a year and a half.

• Foreclosure reform: House Bill 3. In addition to the 7,000 or so foreclosures each month in Ohio, we have more than one million mortgages either under water or close to it. A slight increase in unemployment could bump tens of thousands more into the foreclosure pipeline. The crisis is not ending; immediate action is needed to help our citizens stay in their homes and address the impact foreclosures have on our communities. HB3 would regulate mortgage servicers and charge a filing fee, the proceeds of which would return to communities to fund prevention counseling and foreclosure mitigation programs.

• Tenant Protection: House Bill 9 and Senate Bill 13. These bills protect tenants in the event of their landlord's foreclosure. They require landlords to notify current and potential tenants if their property is or will soon be in foreclosure; require landlords to notify tenants if a foreclosure is not remedied and a sheriff’s sale date is set; and stipulate that all residential rental agreements convert to a month-to-month rental agreement upon court approval of the sale of the property.

In addition, COHHIO supports

• Advancing policy work on Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) as an effective tool in housing the chronically homeless
• Working to ensure a fair and accessible elections process and as complete a count as possible for the 2010 Census