A win for consumer protection! Payday lending reforms survive

The effort to undo payday lending reforms failed yesterday, and that means Colorado consumers are better off today.

It's a victory for hard-working Coloradans, and you helped.

A key moment in yesterday's tense back-and-forth was when the Senate held firm on its rules bill. That's when you spoke up, and we thank you for adding your voice to the chorus.

After the House late Tuesday amended the annual rules-review bill to include a single, solitary change that would have weakened payday lending reforms, Senate Bill 78 was returned to the Senate. The Senate essentially rejected the amendment, voting to return to the original language of the bill.

The stage was set for a showdown -- technically over the rules bill, but really over the language to undo last year's payday reforms.

With the clock ticking, and after Gov. John Hickenlooper let it be known that he would call an immediate special session, the House backed down and passed the original rules bill.

In the end, yesterday's drama may be just one memory from a hectic rush to wrap up the session, but the lasting outcome is that 2010's reforms now get a real a chance to work. They've been fully in effect for only a few months, but already we know that borrowers are having an easier time.

Make no mistake, if the amendment regarding the attorney general's rule had passed, it would have raised fees for borrowers and added an incentive for payday lenders to churn loans.

But the reforms remain in place and are working.

Well done.