ATLANTA AP – The state’s highest court upheld the convictions of two lenders charged with violating Georgia’s first-of-a-kind crackdown on payday lending, concluding Monday that state lawmakers had a “rational” reason to outlaw the short-term, high-interest loans.

The Georgia Supreme Court’s unanimous decision to reject the legal challenges by Nathaniel Glenn and John Dunlap preserved the Legislature’s 2004 effort to make Georgia the only state to specifically outlaw payday loans.