Payday lending

_ Tuesday could be a big day for the payday lending industry and its opponents. The Senate Commerce Committee has placed on its calendar a measure that would re-establish state regulation over payday loans after a nearly four-year absence. Consumer activists have argued the proposed fees and terms in a bill filed by Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, still wouldn't keep low-income borrowers out of a cycle of debt. The North Carolina Fair Housing Center said it delivered 500 letters to the committee in opposition to the bill from citizens opposed to the Senate measure. At the same time, the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks will hold a hearing Tuesday on whether Advance America, the state's largest payday lender, is breaking the law by offering high-interest loans.

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