Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) announced plans Wednesday to reform the credit industry with new legislation.

Menendez says deceptive business practices by credit card companies are forcing many residents to spiral into financial crises. The senator has proposed the new Credit Card Reform Act as a countermeasure to those practices.

The senator says he wants to put an end to companies using wild interest rate hikes and extreme penalties for missed payments.

"The practices are not savvy business strategies," says Menendez. "They are unfair, deceptive tactics that end up snaring the finances and dreams of too many Americans."

Menendez says the legislation would prohibit unilateral changes to credit card agreements. It would also block offers and increased limits for customers who don't have the money to make payments.

Several local consumer groups support the act and hope it will protect residents from getting stuck in fine print loopholes.

"It shouldn't be an issue of reading print that someone who is much younger than me couldn't read," says Phyliss Salowe Kaye, of New Jersey Citizen Action.

For more on credit reform, go to channel 612 on your iO digital cable box and select iO Extra.