CONTACT: Christie Marra christie@vplc.org (804) 615-8150 RICHMOND, VA – Virginia Poverty Law Center applauds Governor Northam’s amendment of the state budget to end the automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for unpaid court debt. The Governor’s budget amendment is the final step in a multi-year advocacy effort led by Senator Bill Stanley and the Legal Aid […]

For students who come from food insecure households, school breakfast can be the first meal after hours or even an entire weekend without food. School meals are vitally important to communities with high levels of poverty and insecurity. In our 2019 annual school breakfast report, we’ve outlined how each federal nutrition program works, the participation […]

In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced a rule to end predatory loan practices, putting “a stop to the payday debt traps that have plagued communities across the country,” according to former CFPB Director Richard Cordray. The original rule requires lenders to assess a borrower’s ability to repay a loan to prevent consumers […]

This month, Governor Northam vetoed several bills relating to short-term limited duration and catastrophic health plans. Expanding availability of these plans would likely cause higher premiums in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace due to healthy individuals being drawn to skimpy or high deductible plans and leaving a sicker, higher cost group in the marketplace […]

Earlier this year, Dominion Energy committed to $870 million in proposed energy efficiency programs as part of their 2018 Grid Transformation and Securitization Act (GTSA). Stakeholders and Dominion representatives agreed that the company would develop and implement effective energy efficiency measures to help lower consumer bills and reduce demand on the overall system. Now, Dominion […]