April 27, 2011 - According to KPBS, Assemblymember Charles Calderon has introduced legislation (AB 1158) to raise the borrowing cap for payday lenders from $300 to $500. The Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance approved the measure on April 25 by a 7-1 vote, with four lawmakers not voting.
From Jan. 1, 2003 - Dec. 31, 2010, Charles Calderon received more in direct campaign contributions connected to the Payday/Title Loans interest group ($31,450) than any other member of the Assembly serving in the 2009-2010 or 2011-2012 legislative session. State Senator Ron Calderon, brother of Charles Calderon, is the top recipient among all legislators in that same time frame ($50,000).
A MapLight.org analysis of campaign contribution figures provided by the National Institute on Money in State Politics shows that interest groups connected to Payday/Title Loans have contributed over $1.1 million since the 2004 election cycle to seated California state legislators of the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 sessions. Contributions from the 2010 election cycle totaled over $444,000.
Below is the list of the top 20 recipients of campaign contributions connected to the Payday/Title Loans interest group.
19 of the top 20 are Democrats.
| Recipient | Party | Office | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Calderon | Democrat | Senate | $50,000 |
| Lou Correa | Democrat | Senate | $42,300 |
| Alex Padilla | Democrat | Senate | $41,950 |
| Ted Lieu | Democrat | Senate | $38,400 |
| Gloria Negrete McLeod | Democrat | Senate | $37,789 |
| Kevin De Leon | Democrat | Senate | $36,333 |
| Charles Calderon | Democrat | Assembly | $31,450 |
| Leland Yee | Democrat | Senate | $30,100 |
| Alberto Torrico | Democrat | Assembly | $28,000 |
| John Perez | Democrat | Assembly | $27,694 |
| Tony Mendoza | Democrat | Assembly | $23,500 |
| Fiona Ma | Democrat | Assembly | $23,100 |
| Felipe Fuentes | Democrat | Assembly | $20,500 |
| Darrell Steinberg | Democrat | Senate | $20,008 |
| Jose Solorio | Democrat | Assembly | $19,000 |
| Hector De La Torre | Democrat | Assembly | $18,000 |
| Mary Hayashi | Democrat | Assembly | $16,300 |
| Joe Coto | Democrat | Assembly | $16,200 |
| Ricardo Lara | Democrat | Assembly | $16,200 |
| Mike Villines | Republican | Assembly | $15,750 |
Monetary and non-monetary contributions to candidate campaign committees of legislators serving in the 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 sessions of the California State Legislature for election cycles 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010. Campaign contribution data provided by the National Institute on Money in State Politics.
