by John O'Connor
The State
February 19, 2010

Charleston attorney Mullins McLeod has ended his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, endorsing Camden state Sen. Vincent Sheheen for the job.

McLeod said he and Sheheen had similar ideas for the state, and that both continuing campaigns would be counterproductive.

"The end goal is a new generation of leadership to step forward," McLeod said. "The last thing I want is a divisive primary to cost us a general election."

McLeod's departure leaves four Democratic candidates: attorney and former lobbyist Dwight Drake, state Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston, Superintendent of Education Jim Rex and Sheheen.

Sheheen praised McLeod's focus on asking government work on behalf of state residents and his skill in delivering a stump speech.

McLeod said fund raising was not a factor in his decision, and that he has no plans now to enter another race.

Columbia, SC (WLTX, AP) -- South Carolina legislators say they want to close loopholes in a payday lending law that took effect earlier this month.

"The ink wasn't dry more than a couple of days on the bill that we worked tirelessly on last year. The ink wasn't dry, and there they were, scheming again," said Democratic Sen. Joel Lourie speaking during a Tuesday press conference.

Two weeks have passed since a new law targeting the state's payday lending industry took effect. But now, lawmakers are getting ready to rewrite the law, saying many lenders have found loopholes.

"The most blatant example we've seen recently is almost 100 payday lenders apparently switching their licenses," said Democratic Sen. Vincent Sheheen.

 from SC Politics Today
The State
February 16, 2010

Lawmakers said Tuesday it may be time consider banning payday lending in the state, or else severely capping the interest rate they charge on loans.

During a mid-day press conference, several senators expressed frustration with payday lenders' efforts to skirt newly-passed regulations, the first placed on the industry since it was legalized in 1998.

"Unfortunately, too many payday lenders see regulation as a game with the point being to skirt whatever rules are in place so they can continue to abuse the most vulnerable citizens of our state," said Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor.

by Roddie Burris
The State
February 16, 2010 

Lawmakers are revisiting payday lending regulations, this time to close a couple of gaping loopholes unforeseen in the new regulatory legislation passed last year.

One portion of the fix seeks to stop payday lenders who now want to operate as supervised lenders by merely changing their business licenses. Those lenders can offer small unsecured loans over longer terms than the two-week payday loan.

The other portion attempts to force payday lenders to work out payment agreements with existing borrowers who could not be entered into the state's new electronic database.

The electronic database went into effect Feb. 1 and was designed to limit payday loans to one per customer, at a maximum of $550.

Many payday customers, lawmakers are finding out, have multiple outstanding loans with more than one lender, and the database only allows a single entry per person.

During a Senate Banking and Insurance Committee hearing Wednesday, lawmakers were told borrowers run the risk of an avalanche of insufficient fund and returned check charges on top of their short-term, high-interest loans that are due, as payday lenders threaten to present to banks the checks they hold on the loans.

Sen. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, and Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, will hold a news conference on the new legislation they are co-sponsoring to address the problems today at noon at the State House.