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A vocal supporter and a vocal critic of payday lending faced off Sunday in a public forum at a Northwest Side church.

Rudy Mares, the Southern Arizona coordinator of Arizonans for Financial Reform, and District 30 Rep. Marian McClure presented their sides of the payday-lending debate during an hour-long discussion at St. Mark's United Methodist Church, 1431 W. Magee Road.

Arizonans for Financial Reform and McClure, R-Tucson, both have introduced opposing legislation pertaining to payday lending.

Mares' group is pushing for what it says are changes in the way payday lenders do business, while McClure wants payday lending to become a Class 5 felony in Arizona.

"A payday loan is nothing more than an employee buying, for a fee, an early paycheck," Mares told about two dozen people. "Eliminating the industry will not eliminate the need."

He acknowledged that changes are needed and said the initiative his group is touting would:

● Cut the fee by 15 percent per two-week loan from 17.65 percent to 15 percent.

● Eliminate rolling over principal balances to extend loans.

● Create a free repayment plan for those who can't pay their loans when they're due.

● Implement a statewide database of people on repayment plans to prevent them from taking out other payday loans to cover the first loan.

McClure said she gets 15 to 20 calls weekly from constituents locked into a cycle of debt from payday loans they can't repay. She said much of the initiative backed by Mares would have no impact on the industry.

Lenders are supposed to be able to charge only 15 percent per two weeks but are using a loophole to charge the 17.65 percent, she said.

They don't generally roll over unpaid loans, she added. Instead, they implement a new loan on the consumer's behalf.

And the database would track only people enrolled in a repayment plan, meaning nothing stops them from taking out multiple loans before the first two-week repayment period expires.

"I urge you not to be fooled," she said.