title:  TN Lawmakers Got Big Money To Approve 279 Percent Interest Rate Loans (VIDEO)
text: In 2014, Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill which legalized an entirely new type of loan in the state, often referred to as a Flex loan. These loans have an annual interest rate of 279 percent.According to WTVF, the Flex loan is the brainchild of the payday loan industry. The bill, which allows payday lenders to push these predatory loans in Tennessee, was introduced just as the U.S. Congress was talking about cracking down on traditional payday loans.The Flexible Credit Act, which created the loans and legalized an interest rate of 279 percent, was sponsored by republican State Representative Cameron Sexton.It passed with bipartisan support in both houses.An investigation by WTVF revealed that, just before and just after the bill was passed, at least $400,000 was funnelled to state lawmakers from payday lending companies.The only person to testify regarding the bill was a lobbyist from the payday loan industry.Only one lawmaker, democratic Representative Mike Stewart, questioned the legislation as it made its way through the assembly.Video shows that Representative Stewart, who voted against the legislation, initially asked Sexton about the bill. Do we have any idea as we re passing this bill today, which is creating an entirely new financial product, what it s going to cost the average guy on the street? When Sexton did not have an immediate answer, Stewart continued to press him on the issue. Well what is the APR?  he asked.  I m sure we know it. What is it? What is the answer? What is it? Sexton finally replied, saying,  The highest interest rate that could be charged is 24%. Sexton s answer was deceptive. While Flex loans have a 24 percent annual interest rate, there is an additional interest rate of .7 percent, which is charged to the consumer every single day, throughout the life of the loan.Veteran Joshua Hause had two existing payday loans in Tennessee, before the Flex loans were legalized. His total debt at the time was $925.As he explains here, he was forced to convert the two loans to a Flex loan. He now pays more than $2,000 a month on the $925 he originally borrowed, and his payments continue to grow larger every month.Hause is not alone. WTVF also talked to Tennessee resident Malia Andrews. I just about had a complete meltdown in the car,  Andrews recalled, describing the moment she realized it would take years to pay off her flex loan.She explained,  And only like $20 of my payment was going to the principal and the rest was, like $300, was going towards the interest rate. The single mother said that, if she d known how much the loan would end up costing her, she never would have taken it out. According to WTVF, the bill that legalized Flex loans in Tennessee never addressed the 279 percent APR.WTVF interviewed Sexton on February 17, 2016.NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Sexton about the exchange on the House floor in 2014:  Why weren t you able to just say  this is what the APR is ? Sexton s response:  I don t think anybody was trying to dodge the question. What happens is you want to make sure the information he s provided is accurate. It gets better.NewsChannel 5 Investigates asked Sexton,  So you d have to do some real math to figure out its 279%. I don t know about real math, but it would take a little work to come up with 278%,  he replied. Watch the video below, courtesy of WTVF.Featured image via video screen capture from WTVF 