HARRISBURG — Democratic critics of “payday loans” likened its practitioners to loan sharks and drug dealers, but the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives voted Wednesday to approve an industry-backed bill to regulate short-term lending.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chris Ross, was the only House member to defend it during more than an hour of debate that preceded the 102-90 vote. The legislation now moves to the Senate.

At issue are small, high-cost loans that typically become due at the end of a two-week pay period.

The legislation would require short-term lenders to obtain state licenses and abide by rules governing loan terms and limiting borrowers to a maximum of 25 percent of their gross monthly income or $1,000, whichever is less.

It would allow lenders to charge 12.5 percent interest plus a $5 fee on each loan. A $300 loan, for example, would cost $342.50 to repay at the end of two weeks.

Ross, R-Chester, said the bill would protect Pennsylvanians from unscrupulous lenders in hard-to-trace locations that advertise quick, no-questions-asked loans on the Internet, TV and newspapers.

“This is going on right now in Pennsylvania,” he said.

Opponents, including a coalition of consumer, religious and labor groups, argued that the interest and fees on the hypothetical two-week, $300 loan works out to 369 percent when calculated as an annual percentage rate, which facilitates comparisons to other loans.

Currently, the maximum APR that may be charged by licensed lenders in the state is about 24 percent, said Kerry Smith, a staff attorney with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, a member of the coalition.

Legislators who spoke out against the bill, all Democrats, said payday lenders make borrowers dependent on the loans for fast cash so they will continue borrowing — and paying huge fees.