Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and Democrats who run the General Assembly are working together to go after junk fees.
Anyone who has ever ordered a meal online knows the initial price is not what you end up paying – not after the transaction fee and the convenience fee and all the other charges. That's why Jay Speer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center says it was so important for the General Assembly to take action.
"There has to be more clarity around what it costs to buy a good or service," Speer says. "And they can't hide things by slipping in fees at the last minute or even after you’ve signed."
The bill was introduced by Senator Stella Pekarsky, a Democrat from Fairfax County. She successfully got the bill through the General Assembly, but then the governor added an exemption for gyms.
"We rejected the amendment on a bipartisan fashion, and then we sent it back to him and we said, ‘You know, pick Virginians or large corporations and industry,’" Pekarsky says. "And luckily, he did the right thing and he signed it."
Now that the governor's signature is on the bill, the new law will go into effect this summer on July the first.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
