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State Representative Sandra Masin
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-3533
For more information contact: Charlene Briner 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
NEW LAWS WILL BENEFIT CONSUMERS
To the Editor,
As your State Representative, I want to share information about some of the consumer protection laws passed during the 2009 Legislative Session. Effective on August 1, each of these new laws will make a difference in the lives of Minnesotans.
People who have lost their cell phone will be pleased with a new law that protects them from being liable for charges the finder may rack up. Under the new law, a customer will not be liable for charges resulting from unauthorized use of their cell phone, if the wireless provider has been notified that the phone is lost or stolen.
Payday borrowers - whose numbers have been increasing during the recession - will have added protections from lenders, especially regarding the harm that may result from serial borrowing. Serial borrowing occurs when lenders allow customers to repeatedly take out or roll over existing loans, making it nearly impossible for borrowers to stay current on their payments. The new law tightens payday lending rules, requires detailed records about transactions and penalizes lender who violate the rules.
If you are waiting for a settlement on an insurance claim, you’ll find that payment coming a little more quickly due to a new law that charges insurance companies interest when they delay settlements.
Finally, unrelated to consumer protection, but important in its own right, is a new law authored by my colleagues Representative Mike Obermueller and Senator Jim Carlson. Starting this year, the first Sunday in every October will now be designated Fallen Firefighters Memorial Day, devoted to honoring all Minnesota firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty – some 197 line-of-duty firefighters since recording began in 1881.
For more detailed information about any of these and many other new laws visit the non-partisan Minnesota House of Representatives Information webpage at www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hinfo/0809nlrelease.pdf.
Sincerely,
Sandra Masin
State Representative, District 38A
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