a service of NPRI


May 4, 2005 
 Vol. 1, No. 11
 


Courtesy,
Nevada Taxpayers Association

 


Commentary
Mud puddles
and rain storms

Nevada's Assembly is out to make life even tougher for people with credit problems.

By Doug French

The Assembly continued its bungling last week by unanimously passing Majority Leader Barbara Buckley’s Assembly Bill 384. Key provisions of the bill would prohibit payday loan companies from making loans exceeding 25 percent of a borrower’s estimated gross monthly income.

Besides wanting state government to micromanage the loan granting process, the bill’s sponsors wish to limit the interest that could be charged after a borrower has defaulted to the prime interest rate plus 10 percent. But a lender could charge and seek to collect that interest for only 12 weeks following the default. After that period, Buckley’s bill would shut the interest meter off entirely.

Payday loan companies still could charge whatever interest rate the traffic will bear for the agreed upon initial term of the loan, generally two weeks or a month. The bill also allows for one eight-week extension.

“It is pretty evident the payday loan industry in the state of Nevada needs to be reined in,” Buckley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “People go to a payday loan store for a $200 loan only to find their wages are garnished for $2,000.”

Buckley must have the mistaken notion [more]

Ralph Heller on
The Bryan-Miller Legacy They'd Prefer You Forget

NTA shares legislative reports with BN readers

the nevada taxpayers association has agreed to allow BusinessNevada readers to access its thoroughly researched and authoritative bill status reports from the Nevada Legislature.

Prepared by NTA President and statewide tax authority Carole Vilardo, the bill status reports are normally only available as one of the perks of taxpayer association membership.

To access the current report, No. 12, or last week's, No. 11, click on "Bill Status Reports" in the column at right. The current report contains a summary of the status of all bills, not reported in Issue 11. The status report is current as of the first house passage deadline (April 26) and contains notes about amendments, or positions changed or taken by the association.

Bankruptcy law could
make problems in Nevada 

By Steven Mihailovich
 LV Business Press

Creditors ranging from big banks to small businesses are welcoming the recent bankruptcy reforms, but some professionals who represent creditors warn that there might be some consequences, particularly in Nevada, to dampen the enthusiasm.

The law is intended to end the abuse of the bankruptcy process that wipes out millions of dollars that debtors could or should pay but the immediate impact is likely to be a rapid increase in filings as debtors seek the current law's more lenient treatment, which does not expire until October.

Since the effectiveness of some provisions of the new law are debatable, local bankruptcy attorneys say the new law might not always benefit creditors. [continued]

Restaurateurs want
minimum wage to wait
Lifting pay may force
prices up, panel told

By Erin Neff
 LV Review-Journal

Although a proposal to increase the minimum wage in Nevada won support at the polls last year, numerous business representatives told a Senate panel Tuesday the electorate was ill-informed.

Democratic and union proponents often cited the will of the people in seeking immediate enactment of the ballot initiative, but restaurateurs and franchisees told the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee to wait until they could embark on an education campaign. [continued]

Downtown Vegas project teaches hard lessons
LV Business Press

The clark county Regional Justice Center was supposed to be the glittering jewel of downtown Las Vegas, a civic symbol for a community on the rise. Instead, it has become a lead weight and a costly embarrassment, serving as an untoward reminder of Clark County's shortcoming.  [continued]

 


73rd Session 

 

 

 Subscribe to BUSINESSNevada

 Know a colleague who’d be interested? Forward BUSINESSNevada!