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plans with no additional finance charge and require lenders to provide information on loans to the state Banking Commission.
• One of the lenders Hickey worked with to develop the proposal is Advance America, a South Carolina-based company that has offices in South Dakota and 28 other states.
• Jamie Fulmer, the company's senior vice president of public affairs, said Advance America likes some parts of the bill but has reservations about other provisions. The company's support for the bill depends on how it might be changed during the legislative process, he said.
• Fulmer said state and federal regulations must strike a balance between making sure people can get the loans they need and protecting them from making bad credit choices.
• Responsible short-term lenders don't make loans to people who cannot repay them, Fulmer said. A typical borrower needs money to pay a utility bill, cover car repairs or take care of other unexpected expenses, he said. Such loans are usually repaid when borrowers get their next paychecks.
• It's cheaper for a person to pay a $19 charge on a $100 loan than to pay a $35 overdraft fee for writing a check, Fulmer said.
• "While there are those who feel this is an issue that needs immediate attention, the fact of the matter is consumers who use these products and services in South Dakota and elsewhere are overwhelmingly satisfied," Fulmer said.
• Only about 200 complaints were filed against Advance America nationwide last year, Fulmer said, and the company made 10 million loans.
• Hickey said there are good and bad companies in the short-term lending industry. He said the state needs to know more about the lenders, the terms of their loans and whether people are able to repay those loans.
• Hickey said if short-term lenders don't support the bill and the Legislature rejects it, he can always resume the effort to put a proposed rate cap on the ballot for a statewide vote.
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• BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) -- The federal Interior Department and U.S. Geological Survey have teamed up to produce the nation's first publicly available interactive map and database of all onshore wind turbines.
• The map shows turbines installed as of July 2013 -- more than 47,000 sites.
• "The data will help improve the siting of future wind energy projects as well as aid land managers in devising more up-to-date land-use and multiple-use plans," Inte

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