Topic: Consumer Protection

Joint Statement: Installment loan bill needs improvement to protect Oklahomans from financial harm

For Immediate Release Oklahoma Policy Institute along with a coalition of Oklahoma organizations and individuals released this joint statement on a bill that would allow a new high-cost lending product in Oklahoma: Last month, the Oklahoma Senate passed a bill,… Read more [More...]

Rules to protect payday loan customers are under attack…again

In the fall of 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued new rules to protect payday loan customers from some of the most harmful practices in that industry. But now the same federal agency that issued the rule has announced plans to scrap important provisions of it, leaving many consumers unprotected. The good news is that this proposal to roll back the payday rule is still just a proposal. Before this proposal can be finalized, the agency must first allow for public comments, and you can easily submit one. [More...]

2019 Priority: Safeguard access to quality health care by rejecting ‘junk coverage’

Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here. Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here. Before 2013, widely-available junk health insurance coverage left patients at the mercy of big insurance companies, with coverage that… Read more [More...]

2019 Priority: Increase renter protections from landlords who fail to maintain safe properties or file frivolous evictions

Download this fact sheet as a printable pdf here. Read about the rest of OK Policy’s 2019 Legislative Policy Priorities here. Tens of thousands of Oklahoma families face eviction each year. Despite relatively low housing costs, Tulsa and Oklahoma City… Read more [More...]

Employment credit checks are putting jobs out of reach for Oklahomans

This post is by OK Policy intern Lydia Lapidus. Lydia is a recent graduate from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs with a concentration in International Politics. When applying for a job, you might scan your social media… Read more [More...]

New protections for payday loan borrowers are under attack

Last fall, we told you about new rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would protect payday loan customers from some of the most abusive practices in that industry. These new rules, scheduled to be enforced in mid-2019,… Read more [More...]

Roadside cameras won’t solve Oklahoma’s uninsured driver problem

In 2016 Oklahoma enacted SB 359 creating the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Program. The new law allows district attorneys to contract with private companies for automated license plate readers to catch and send tickets to uninsured drivers. The company that won… Read more [More...]

New protections for payday loan borrowers are coming (if Congress will stay out of the way)

After years of research and public consultation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this month issued a final rule to create new protections for payday loan borrowers. These new protections are a necessary and positive first step in eliminating the debt… Read more [More...]

Congress is trying to strip away Americans’ protections from predatory lending

Last month, Governor Fallin made the right choice when she vetoed HB 1913 – a bill that would have expanded predatory lending in Oklahoma. In her veto message, Fallin pointed out that Oklahomans frequently take out high-interest loans at a… Read more [More...]

Common sense reforms needed to protect Oklahoma tenants

Preston Brasch was an OK Policy Spring intern. He is studying law at the University of Tulsa School of Law. Oklahoma faces a significant affordable housing shortage (see e.g. the 2016 Oklahoma Housing Needs Assessment and A Housing Strategy for… Read more [More...]