PREDATORY LENDING PRACTICES used to hoodwink poor and elderly borrowers out of their money are no longer acceptable in South Carolina.

That is the message lawmakers sent last week when they approved legislation outlawing abusive loan practices. This landmark legislation, while not as strong as it could have been, may help save borrowers millions of dollars a year.

The legislation requires mandatory credit counseling on high-cost loans; limits flipping, the repeated financing of loans, to every 42 months; prohibits the financing of credit insurance; limits the amount of points and fees that can be financed in a high-cost loan; prohibits a prepayment penalty on home mortgage loans up to $150,000; requires the lender to make sure the borrower has the ability to repay a loan; and requires mortgage brokers to act in the best interest of borrowers. The law also addresses title loans, although only in a small way, by limiting the times lenders can roll over loans that are for less than 120 days.

If the governor signs the legislation - and he should as soon as possible - predatory lenders must clean up their act. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2004.

Concerned lawmakers and consumer advocates had fought for years to get this law passed, but constantly were thwarted by the strong lobby of lenders. However, their hard work, which included tough negotiations with the lending industry, finally paid off this session.

A strong push from consumer advocates and bipartisan support among lawmakers led to the passage of this much-needed legislation. Advocates were led by Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Jane Wiley, legislative director for AARP South Carolina; John Ruoff, research director for South Carolina Fair Share; Brandolyn Pinkston, interim director of the Consumer Affairs Department; and Furman Buchanan, who represents the credit unions. The NAACP, the United Methodist Church, Habitat for Humanity and others also supported the law.

While many lawmakers worked to bring this law to fruition over the years, several stand out. Sen. David Thomas spent much political capital working on this legislation, perhaps to his detriment. He is convinced that some lenders worked against him in his unsuccessful campaign for the office of lieutenant governor.

Also, Sen. Darrell Jackson and Rep. Joe Neal, members of the conference committee that fashioned the final legislation, worked on this issue for years. Sens. Wes Hayes and Linda Short, also conference committee members, helped guide debate and shape the final bill. In addition, Rep. Harry Cato, who promised a solid bill at the beginning of the session, should be commended for standing up for consumers. The same goes for Rep. Doug Smith, who helped get the House to pass a bill and authored an amendment putting strict regulation on mortgage brokers.

The passage of this law is an extraordinary show of support for vulnerable citizens who often get ignored in this state. We know there was great pressure from some in the lending industry to get lawmakers to implement less restrictive rules. But lawmakers stayed committed to ridding this state of predatory lending.

Legitimate lenders should not fret. The law is not aimed at those who play fair. But unscrupulous lenders have been served notice their legal loan-sharking days are numbered. And that's good news for South Carolina consumers.