NEWS

Ron and Charles Calderon Lead Both Chambers As Top Recipients of Payday Lending Contributions

Jeffrey ErnstFriedman | April 27, 2011

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.

RecipientPartyOfficeTotal
Ron CalderonDemocratSenate $50,000
Lou CorreaDemocratSenate$42,300
Alex PadillaDemocratSenate$41,950
Ted LieuDemocratSenate$38,400
Gloria Negrete McLeod    
Democrat        
Senate$37,789
Kevin De LeonDemocratSenate$36,333
Charles CalderonDemocratAssembly          
$31,450
Leland YeeDemocratSenate$30,100
Alberto TorricoDemocratAssembly$28,000
John PerezDemocratAssembly$27,694
Tony MendozaDemocratAssembly$23,500
Fiona MaDemocratAssembly$23,100
Felipe FuentesDemocratAssembly$20,500
Darrell SteinbergDemocratSenate$20,008
Jose SolorioDemocratAssembly$19,000
Hector De La TorreDemocratAssembly$18,000
Mary HayashiDemocratAssembly$16,300
Joe CotoDemocratAssembly$16,200
Ricardo LaraDemocratAssembly$16,200
Mike VillinesRepublicanAssembly$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.