CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Interest Rate Cap Fails in Committee

A bill that would limit to 18% the interest rate a retailer can charge failed in an Assembly committee. The measure was an attempt to revive the Unruh Retail Credit Act of 1959, which was repealed by legislation signed by Gov. George Deukmejian in 1988. Assemblyman Rusty Areias (D-Los Banos) said he will either reintroduce his bill next year or seek to qualify for a ballot initiative. The Assembly Finance and Insurance Committee voted 10-7 against the bill. Areias and several consumer groups argued that the retail industry had failed to deliver on its promise that, if the interest rate ceiling was repealed, interest rates would not rise and more credit would be available to low-income customers. Areias said interest rates since the repeal have averaged 20.15% and sometimes run as high as 24%.