Opponents of a bill to tighten regulations on payday loans in Colorado have said employees of the short-term lenders would lose their jobs if the measure passes.

For local employees of ACE Cash Express, the bill's connection to their job security was made explicitly clear in a recent memo from top company officials. The memo, from Bob Kaser, a regional vice president, laid out a script for employees to read when they call state representatives about the payday loan bill.

"Representative _______________. My name is ___________. I live at ____________," begins the script. "I am one of your constituents. I work for ACE Cash Express.

"ACE was founded 40 years ago in Denver and employs 200. I am very concerned about HB1310 sponsored by Representative Ferrindino (sic).

"Please vote against it.

"If this bill passes into law I will no longer be able to offer short-term loans to my customers.

"This is a prohibition bill."

While lobbying state lawmakers might not have been in the job description for the company's employees, Kaser tells managers in the memo, "I will need each of you to confirm back to me by mid-noon on Thursday that every employee has called, unless out on vacation or ilness leave."

Kaser didn't return calls seeking comment, but Eric Norrington, the company's vice president of communication and government relations, said the company had "asked" its employees to make the calls.

"Absolutely, we wanted all of our employees to know that the state legislature was considering passing a law that could put employees out of their jobs," he said.

Did employees have a choice in whether to make a call? Despite the memo's wording that managers "confirm" that "every employee" had called lawmakers, Norrington insisted "it was not mandatory."

The Senate Tuesday gave initial approval to the legislation, House Bill 1310 [1], which caps interest rates on payday loans at 45 percent. The bill has to make a stop in the Senate Appropriations Committee before it can move back to the Senate for final consideration.