Payday ballot group collects sigs, but has no ballot

A group that is sponsoring a ballot measure to cap interest rates at 36 percent in South Dakota filed a complaint with the attorney general's office Monday, alleging a rival ballot measure is illegally collecting signatures.

The rival group, South Dakotans for Fair Lending, was collecting signatures at the Sioux Empire Fair this weekend, even though the group's ballot language has not been approved by Attorney General Marty Jackley. Steve Hildebrand, a co-chair of the group South Dakotans for Responsible Lending, accused the rival group Monday of illegally circulating petitions to defraud voters.

While Hildebrand's measure would cap interest rates at 36 percent, the measure promoted by South Dakotans for Fair Lending would change the South Dakota Constitution to cap interest rates at 18 percent. However, it also includes a provision that interest rates could be higher on loans when a borrower signs a contract.

Supporters of reining in payday lenders say the 18 percent ballot measure is a decoy meant to confuse voters.

Sara Rabern, a spokeswoman for Jackley, said it doesn't appear that South Dakotans for Fair Lending is committing a criminal offense. But the signatures would unlikely be valid to get the measure on the ballot.

At the group's fair booth Monday, several people were collecting signatures on what looked like official petitions. However, signs next to the petitions referred to them as "advisory" petitions. "Please sign the OFFICIAL PETITION when it is available later this month. Thanks for your support."

A man at the booth declined to say how many signatures have been collected.

"I don't count them. I just send them in." He deferred comment to Lisa Furlong, who registered South Dakotans for Fair Lending with the secretary of state's office last month.

"We have a dedicated group of supporters and volunteers that are anxious to get to work and felt that the fair presented a great opportunity to measure support for our effort," Furlong said in an email. "The petitions currently being circulated are 'advisory petitions,' meant to simply gauge support for our measure and to begin raising awareness for this cause."

Reynold Nesiba, who was at the fair collecting signatures for South Dakotans for Responsible Lending, accused the payday-backed rivals of being aggressive and rude in trying to get signatures.

Melissa Mentele is heading New Approach South Dakota, which is collecting signatures for a ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana. She said her group was approached Friday when they were setting up their booth at the fair to see if they wanted to collect signatures for South Dakotans for Fair Lending. Mentele, who declined, said they were offered between $13 and $20 an hour with incentives.

"I asked her straight out if it was the same company that targeted Josiah's, and she said, 'I don't know,'" Mentele said in reference to mobs of homeless people who suddenly began showing up for meals at Hildebrand's restaurant.

Jackley's office has until Sept. 11 to approve the language for South Dakotans for Fair Lending.