COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In a move designed to boost consumer protection, Ohio lawmakers finished work on a payday loan reform bill Tuesday.

The bill caps interest rates on small loans at 28 percent and limits customers to four loans a year.

Rep. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, sponsored the bill, saying it put consumers first.

"This bill has been about consumers. The debate and discussion has been how much someone pays for the convenience of getting a short term emergency loan," Widener said.

Payday lenders and their employees protested at the Statehouse last week, predicting many stores would close if the bill was passed.

They said it was too restrictive and would kill 6,000 jobs in Ohio.

Already one company has said it has plans to leave the state.

The possibility of job loss was brought up by one critic on the House floor during debate, but members voted 70-24 to approve Senate changes in the bill.

The bill goes next to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature, which is expected next week.

Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, expressed hopes that other lenders would pick up where payday lenders might leave off.

“Now we are forcing the credit unions to step up and do the job they need to be doing. The banks have to start lending money to those individuals in the inner city to make sure they can have availability to the funds they need to have according to federal law,” Luckie said.

Jim.otte@whiotv.com