COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 8 (UPI) -- The payday lending industry in Ohio has stepped up efforts to stop a General Assembly bill meant to cut back on predatory lending, Statehouse observers said.

State senators have been besieged with calls from script-reading payday lender employees, who also mounted a 3,000-person rally at the Statehouse, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported Thursday.

A state Senate hearing on House Bill 545, which passed in the state House of Representatives, would reduce annual interest rates on cash advance loans to 28 percent from the current rate of 381 percent and limit borrowers to four cash advances a year.

In response to the pressure, Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, R-Ashland, temporarily replaced state Sen. Ron Amstutz, R-Wooster, on the Senate Finance Committee with Sen. Jeff Jacobson, R-Vandalia, who has said he prefers a strong reform bill that includes an interest-rate cap, the Dispatch reported.

Finance Committee Chairman Sen. John A. Carey Jr., R-Wellston, has said he favors the House bill, which also has support from Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, the newspaper reported.