A bipartisan attempt to regulate payday lenders in South Dakota has been halted, the latest in a series of state-level efforts to be dismantled by payday industry lobbyists. The South Dakota bill was led by conservative state legislator Steve Hickey and former Obama campaigner Steve Hildebrand — ideological opposites unified against predatory lending. Despite being deeply involved in the crafting of the bill, payday industry lobbyists suddenly turned against the effort, which was killed in committee. When Hildebrand and Hickey tried to revive their effort with a ballot initiative, State Senator Corey Brown put forward a bill doubling the amount of signatures required to enact the caps, effectively killing the effort.