With lawmakers interested in ending the legislative session this month, industry lobbyist Lee Miller says time has simply run out. That means the special law allowing payday lending will expire automatically on June 30.

Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, a key foe of the industry, said she believes other lenders, including credit unions, will step up to fill the void. She said they can operate under the 36 percent “usury” cap.

Miller said those who now use payday loans may have no other alternatives.

Miller offered a last-minute deal: The lenders would live within the 36 percent interest cap. But they wanted to charge an “origination fee” of up to 7.5 percent of the loan, plus a one-time $10 document preparation fee.

He said he could not guarantee the votes for that plan.

And it was an open question whether Gov. Jan Brewer would sign the measure: She admitted voting against the lenders’ plan in 2008.

McCune Davis rejected the argument by Miller that the lack of any competitors proves there are no commercially viable alternatives to payday lending.

“As long as payday lenders are out there, they literally suck up all the oxygen,” she said.

“They are readily available and there are no questions asked,” McCune Davis continued. “So it’s easy for people to approach that type of loan because it’s not very complicated.”

She said credit unions and banks will fill the gap — at least for those who have or establish relationships with those institutions.

“They will help people get appropriate loans and they will help them work their way out of debt,” she said.

But she sidestepped the question of what happens to everyone else.

“That’s not the issue here,” McCune Davis said. “We’re talking about people who do have relationships with lending organizations … who will make products available.”

Pushed further, McCune Davis said those who now use payday loan stores “will be encouraged to deal with lenders who operate within the usury statutes.”

Miller said some payday loan stores are likely to survive beyond June 30. He said some are able to make money in other ways, including cashing checks and operating as agents for the Motor Vehicle Division.