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Columbus, Ohio — The payday lending industry paid $3.42 million to collect the required 241,365 signatures to get Issue 5 on the Nov. 4 ballot.

That works out to $14.17 per valid signature.

Campaign finance reports filed last week show Issue 5 is supported entirely by payday lending companies and an industry trade group. Since July, they've spent $14.6 million to get on the ballot and then urge a No vote on Issue 5.

Here is a sampling of where the money is going:

• $175,000 to Fleishman Hilliard Inc., a public relations firm

• $934,438 to Strategic Public Partners Group, a political consulting firm with ties to the Ohio GOP

• $449,063 to three law firms for legal fees

• $6.9 million to Midwest Communications & Media, a firm owned by Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark that buys TV advertising time

• $50,000 to State Street Consultants, a political consulting firm owned by Neil Clark

• $1.6 million for mailings

• $71,700 for automated calls

• $212,847 for polling

The No on Issue 5 campaign seeks to block parts of a new payday lending law adopted by the General Assembly earlier this year that caps annual interest rates on short term loans at 28 percent, down from the current 391 percent. They warn that if the rate cap stands, most of the state's 1,400 payday lending stores will close and 6,000 workers will lose their jobs. They argue that adults should have the financial freedom to take out payday loans without government interference.

The Yes on Issue 5 campaign, in contrast, spent $261,765 since Sept. 15, with $260,438 of that coming from the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. COHHIO is a non-profit organization that advocates to end homelessness and promote affordable housing. The vast majority of their funds went toward television advertising.

The Yes on Issue 5 campaign hopes to win by working with groups that have endorsed their side, including AARP Ohio, Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Council of Churches, and Ohio Manufacturers Association which are urging their members to vote Yes.

"We have people at every level. We're getting our word out through very basic means from people who care about the issue," said Yes on Issue 5 spokeswoman Sandy Theis.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.