In a vote late Wednesday night, the Wisconsin Assembly voted 58 to 41 to "indefinitely postpone" AB 898, the Wisconsin Rental Purchase Agreement Act. An indefinite postponement is a motion to kill a proposal in its house of origin for a legislative session. The Joint Finance Committee had recommended passage in both houses on Monday. see story

According to the Wisconsin Assembly Rule 49 (2) "Once an assembly proposal has been adversely disposed of, another assembly proposal identical or substantially similar in nature, but not more limited in scope, may not be considered by the assembly in that biennial session."

Barring some procedural hat trick, this would effectively end Wisconsin's chances of joining most other states in regulating rental purchase agreements as leases as opposed to retail credit sales.

24 Republicans crossed party lines to kill the bill. A flurry of last minute amendments put forward by the opposition in both the Senate and Assembly were used as leverage to postpone debate.

10 amendments were offered in the Assembly and 8 in the Senate. Most were rehashes of issues already dealt with in Joint Session. At this late date, anything that slows down the process is discarded in favor of legislation that both sides know can be passed quickly.

Opposition voiced by AARP may also have contributed to the action. AARP spent nearly $221,000 lobbying various legislators during this session alone. AARP made it's opposition public on Monday. Out of nearly 600 organizations registered to lobby in Wisconsin, AARP is 17th in spending.

Many Representatives could not reconcile Governor Doyle's past efforts to run Rent to Own out of Wisconsin with his support of this legislation. His history of opposition to the industry came up repeatedly during hearings. Governor Doyle had committed to sign the amended bill into law if it made it to his desk by the time the session ends tomorrow.

One lobbyists working to pass the bill told RTO Online shortly after it was introduced "A bill like this introduced at the end of session has at best a 50-50 chance of passage." 

State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager Monday reversed her earlier opposition to the legislation after the bill was amended to remain a part of the Wisconsin Consumer Act. (see story) AG Lautenschlager was one of the only statewide elected officials opposing the bill.

During a meeting of the Joint Finance Committee on Monday, there were only 4 votes against recommending passage. Representative Dan Schooff (D) was the only vocal opponent. Most of Rep. Schooff's objections centered around his misunderstanding of the mechanics of the rental purchase transaction. He expressed concern over the lack of interest rate disclosures. He also brought up Former Attorney General Doyle's past in opposing the rent to own industry.

Other Representatives including Representative Michael Huebsch (R) explained to the committee that interest rates were irrelevant to the transaction due to it's temporary nature and that informing consumers of the total cost was even easier to understand.