Assemblymembers Lieu And Saldaña Join Generals And Admirals To Present Landmark Legislation Implementing Department Of Defense Report On Payday Loans To Members Of The Military

(Sacramento, CA) – Assemblymembers Ted W. Lieu (D-Torrance) and Lori Saldaña (D-San Diego) today joined ranking military officers from throughout California to announce AB 1965, the first bill in the nation to implement a recent Department of Defense (DoD) report on payday lending to members of the military.

The DoD recently released the “Report on Predatory Lending Practices Directed at Members of the Armed Forces and Their Dependents,” highlighting the problem of the payday lending industry targeting the military, as shown by the prevalence of payday lenders that have appeared in close proximity to military installations. The highest levels of the DoD believe that this is adversely affecting our military readiness in a time of war. The report lays out suggestions to resolve this impact.

AB 1965 is the first state bill in the country to implement their recommendations, and is the strongest bill in the nation, in terms of states where the product is legal, at protecting our servicemembers.

“I’m pleased to be supporting the men and women who defend our country,” said Lieu, who is an Air Force reservist and previously served on active-duty. “I’m also honored to be working side-by-side with the Department of Defense to help our military members.”  

Assemblymember Saldaña added: “I am proud to co-author AB 1965. It’s one way we can ease the financial struggles of those who serve our nation and help sustain their morale by providing financial relief during deployments.”

Captain Mark Patton, Head, Joint Task Force on Predatory Lending (Southwest), strongly supports the bill. “Our servicemen and women deserve better. A service member who becomes trapped in the cycle of debt frequently caused by payday lending cannot deploy or do his job, and may lose his security clearance. At a time when our nation is at war, this is an unacceptable loss of combat military readiness,” he said.

AB 1965, which recently passed the Senate Appropriations Committee, is currently awaiting action on the Floor of the Senate.