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Commerce committee advances bill to regulate earned-wage access providers
Summary
The House Commerce Committee reported House Bill 368 as amended to set consumer protections for earned-wage access services, including bans on interest and late fees, a required free payout option and annual reporting to the Office of Financial Institutions.
The House Commerce Committee on an unspecified date reported House Bill 368, authored by Representative Saint Blanc, as amended to establish statutory guardrails for consumer-directed earned-wage access (EWA) services in Louisiana.
The measure would define EWA, prohibit interest and late fees, require that EWA remain a non‑resource product, guarantee a free option for accessing earned wages and require certain disclosures and statutory compliance. Representative Newell moved to report the bill as amended; the committee adopted the amendments and reported the bill without recorded roll-call after members said, "Seeing none."
The bill’s sponsor, Representative Saint Blanc, described EWA as “a financial service that allows workers in Louisiana the ability to access their already earned wages during their payroll period.” He said the product has been available in the state for about 10 years and that the bill is meant to “provide guardrails to ensure consumer…
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