Jacob Ogles
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed legislation that aimed to provide safer access to loans for Florida consumers.
The Republican Governor killed the bill (HB 1267) days before it would have gone into effect. His office voiced concerns the changes may actually worsen the economic condition of many Floridians.
“This increase in rates may result in additional consumer indebtedness and could exacerbate the pinch already being felt due to federal government-induced inflation,” DeSantis wrote in a veto message.
The bill would have made substantial changes to the Florida Consumer Finance Law, including increasing maximum interest rates for consumer loans to 36% and eliminating a requirement for a tiered interest structure.
While most of the lawmakers who voted against the bill during the Legislative Session were Democrats, it also created some angst among populist Republicans, including Sens. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and close DeSantis ally, and Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican and founder of Latinas for Trump.
It also would have put in place significant licensing requirements for lenders, and would have increased the time before delinquency charges are assessed from 10 days to 12.
The legislation also aimed to require licensees to provide annual reports to the state Office of Financial Regulation.
While DeSantis said some changes in the bill may be good policy, the increase in fees and rates included in the bill posed an economic threat.
“While the bill contains additional provisions that modernize the licensing process for branch locations and instates transparency requirements, the increase in the interest rate outweighs the bill’s remaining provisions,” the Governor wrote.
Advocates for the bill argued inflation and rising supply costs have impacted the liquidity of most Americans, and that Florida residents needed access to safe and affordable loans regardless of their credit ratings.
“Overly restrictive rate structures, like Florida’s, exclude large portions of residents from being approved by in-state lenders,” wrote Scott Jenkins, Executive Director of the Florida Financial Services Association, in a Florida Politics op-ed in March.
“It’s time we make Florida competitive with the 42 other states that have more accessible rate caps and fee structures, which attract more lenders to those states and provide residents with more lending options.”
The legislation passed in the House on April 27 on a 96-18 vote. The Senate took up the bill and passed it 22-9 a few days later, on May 1.
Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, carried the bill in the Senate. He declined to comment on the veto.
Former Rep. Juan Fernandez Barquin, a Miami Republican who DeSantis just appointed as Miami-Dade County’s new Clerk of Courts and Comptroller, carried the bill in the House.
Had DeSantis signed the bill, or allowed it to become law without his signature, it would have gone into effect in July.
