State senators plan to introduce rate-cap bill

PROV IDENCE – State Sens. James C. Sheehan, D-North Kingstown, and J. Michael Lenihan, D-East Greenwich, plan to introduce legislation next year to reinstate Rhode Island’s interest-rate cap for credit cards.
The proposal, dubbed the Credit Cardholder Protection Act, is intended to provide Rhode Island’s “a safety net” from predatory credit lenders and credit card issuers, the senators said last week in a statement.
Currently, Rhode Island law states that no person or entity can charge interest at a rate greater than 21 percent per annum or 9 percent above the domestic prime rate, whichever rate is lower. However, Chapter 6-26 of the state’s Commercial Law Title contains an exemption for credit card transactions.
The legislation would remove the credit-card loophole. &#8226