The League of Iowa Human & Civil Rights Agencies

SEATTLE -- After a new law imposing stricter regulations on the payday lending industry takes effect Jan. 1, Ken Weaver is not optimistic his two check-cashing stores in eastern Washington will remain open. The new law limits the size of a payday loan to 30 percent of a person's monthly income, or $700, whichever is less. It also bars people from having multiple loans from different lenders, limits the number of loans a person can take out to eight per 12 months, and sets up a database to track the number of loans taken out by people. "I think it's going to affect (them) pretty dramatically," said Weaver, whose Apple Valley Check Cashing stores are in Moses Lake and Wenatchee. "We don't know if we're gonna be open in six months."

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