The direct marketing of credit cards to students in Missouri's state and public colleges is about to be investigated by a special panel of the Missouri House of Representatives.
The appointment of the nine-member panel of five Democrats and four Republicans chaired by St. Louis Democrat Amber Boykins, was announced earlier this week by House Speaker Jim Kreider (D-Nixa).
He said lawmakers were deeply concerned over the growing number of college students deeply in debt as a result of receiving and using unsolicited credit cards.
A report issued in July by the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said that credit card companies use direct mail aggressively get college students to accept and use unsolicited credit cards.
The report was requested by Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY), at a time when Congress considering legislation to tighten financial privacy protections.
According to the GAO report some 64% of college students have credit cards and about 58% of the pay off the balance each month and for those that don't their outstanding balances range from $500 to $3,000, with $2,748 being the average amount of outstanding debt.
With one bill to curb the practice already pending in the House, Boykins indicated that the panel expects to recommend a series of new legislative initiatives to protect college students in the state from receiving and using unsolicited credit cards.
That lone bill, HB-683, amending the state's consumer credit law, is sponsored by Boykin. It would authorize college students to opt out of having their names listed in campus directories, and establish new policies for the marketing of products and services, including credit cards and other financial services, to students at both state-run and other public colleges and universities.
The measure would also require those institutions to annually report all money received as rebates or commissions from credit grantors marketing to members of their student bodies.
Although supported by the Higher Education of the House, the bill has not been placed on its calendar for consideration.
