Senate Bill 309, a technical change to clarify which loans count as title loans under state law, was favorably recommended by the Senate Business and Labor Committee on Feb. 25.

Sponsor Senator Evan Brammer said the bill excludes certain auto-secured consumer loans from the title-loan statute if the repayment term exceeds 364 days. Phil Hitz, a consultant to the consumer-lending industry, told the committee that consumer finance lenders historically were treated as distinct from title lenders and that the bill restores that original legislative intent. "This bill simply corrects that," Hitz said, adding that excluding such loans from the title-lending chapter does not remove oversight because those loans remain regulated under the Uniform Consumer Credit Code and notice requirements with the Department of Financial Institutions.

The committee received no public opposition in committee and voted to favorably recommend SB 309; the chair recorded the motion as passing unanimously.