States Push Their Own Jobs, Consumer Protection Plans
As the House and Senate debate bills that would make jobs as well as a new consumer protection agency within the Federal Reserve, states across the country are pushing their mini-me bills that they hope will accomplish some of the same ends.
On the consumer side, the Arizona Senate on Monday passed a bill that would restrict many of the risky home loans that helped the state become one of the nation?s foreclosure capitals. Among other things, the new bill would bar so-called ?negative amortization? loans and forbids lenders from ?complimentary loans where there is small prospect the borrower’s returns is sufficient to make future payments,? according to the Arizona Daily Sun. Connecticut?s Senate is working on a plot that would require banks to have a representative that homeowners facing foreclosure can talk to about their options.
The number of state consumer protection laws pales in comparison to the slew of jobs proposals being debated in statehouses country. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported that 16 states have proposed bills to ban credit checks on most job applicants, while Hawaii and Washington already have such bans in house. The Kansas House of government on Monday approved a predatory job plot that rewrites and economic incentive programs to encourage employers to go jobs to Kansas from other states.
Legislatures in North Carolina and Indiana are also debating jobs plans (though they are in various stages and may never be law).