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Jan 7 2012 - Push Coming for Va. Welfare Drug Testing Law
By Amanda Iacone
A 2003 court ruling out of Michigan requires case workers to have reasonable suspicion of drug use before requiring a drug test. Bell’s bill would meet that legal threshold, said LaTonya Reed, staff attorney for the Virginia Poverty Law Center, which is tracking the legislation.
Dec 15 2011 - Utility Grace Period for Serious Medical Conditions
By Christie Marra
NEW! Grace Period for Consumers who Can't Pay Utility Bills - New Protection for Virginians with Serious Medical Conditions.
Get the details from Christie.
Dec 3 2011 - Action Alliance to Celebrate 340 Years
In honor of their 30th anniversary, the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance will honor thirty individuals and groups who have made significant contributions in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence tomorrow evening at the annual Act, Honor, Hope gala. The 30th Anniversary honorees range from sexual and domestic violence program directors to law enforcement officers, to legislators. The gala will take place at 6:00pm at the Renaissance Center in Richmond. Information about the event can be found online at www.vsdvalliance.org. Full Press Release
December 4th 2011 - VPLC at Finding Freedom Event
The Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy in collaboration with Master Your Card, hosted an an opportunity event connecting community members and organizations in an effort to promote financial literacy and education. The event was free and open to the public. VPLC Program Coordinator, Dana Wiggins, joined Rep. Bobby Scott in addressing the crowd. Many Thanks to those who paricipated. More Information
Check Out the Event Video!
December 2 2011 - Help from the Virginia Law Foundation 
For the 15th year, a grant from the Virginia Law Foundation made it possible for the program’s sponsor, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, to waive the registration fee for legal aid lawyers, providing relief to the taut budgets of the 11 programs in the state’s legal aid system. Course topics include landlord-tenant issues, Medicaid, protective orders, access to employment and housing for persons with criminal records, and abuse and neglect of elderly persons. More
Nov 25 2011 - Medicare's New pragmatist-in-chief
By Sarah Kliff
In the midst of a recession, advocates remember her standing up for safety-net programs, "She was a pragmatist and a lot of that was, I think, forced on her by the budgetary restrictions," says Jill Hanken, healthcare attorney for Virginia Poverty Law Center. Read the Full Story
Nov 11 2011 - VA's New Utility Cut-off Law in Effect
By Dawn Chase
Christie Marra, an attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, worked with utility companies, the State Corporation Commission (SCC) and others to get the law passed. She describes the guidelines about who qualifies for a reprieve from utility cut-offs with what is known as a "documented serious medical condition."
"A physical or psychiatric condition that requires medical intervention to prevent further disability, loss of function or death. So, you need to be under a doctor's care for a condition that is ongoing." The full story
Better Choices for Virginia Launch/Action Needed
By Dana Wiggins
On Thursday, August 4th, a large and diverse group of Virginia businesses, nonprofits, localities, and organizations announced that they have joined forces to advocate for a balanced approach to the state’s budget shortfall – one that includes new revenues. Simply put, the state doesn’t have the resources it needs to accomplish the minimum things we expect from government, and after the catastrophic cuts over the past few years, continuing this “cuts only” approach to governing will hurt everyone – threatening the health, economy, safety, and future of all Virginia families. More
Car Title Loans: Is it Worth the Risk?
By Gray Hall
"Don't do it. Try to borrow from a friend, family member or coming with something creative. They will take you for a ride and you will pretty much be locked in this forever," Michael said.
Here's an example, if you took out a loan for $1,500 and you paid it back in 12 months - you'd end up paying $5,040. Your payments would about $420 a month and the annual percentage rate would be about 236%.
"The problem is when the bill comes due can they actually afford it," said Dana Wiggins with Virginia Poverty Law Center. More
Businesses Offering Illegal Online Payday Loans
By Gray Hall
Consumers may not know they're illegal, but Wiggins says the businesses offering them do.
"They know that it is illegal many lawyers that work with us, have had conversations with them and let them know that it is not legal in our state," she said.
Outlawing online payday loans was setup to prevent the consumer from falling into a financial trap. "The interest rates for online loans can range from 180 percent to one thousand percent," Wiggins said.
Filling out the forms online gives the lender lots of control -- first, they have access to your bank account. Read the Full Story
Illegal Loan Crime Wave in Virginia
By Dana Wiggins
Consumers who either have an Internet payday loan or who took out a car title loan in Virginia in late 2010 or early 2011 may have been the victims of predatory lenders who were making these loans illegally in the commonwealth. The Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending, a consumer advocacy coalition, is urging those who may have taken out one of these loans to call its payday loan hotline: 866-830-4501. Read the Full Press Release
The Virginia Poverty Law Center's 2010 Brochure won the 2011 Capitol Award of Excellence. Get More Info
New Healthcare Law Bringing Wide Benefits
By Jill Hanken
While many states, including Virginia, are challenging the law, they are also receiving millions of dollars in federal funds as they work to implement it to the benefit of their residents, points out the commentary's author, Jill A. Hanken, a staff attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center and a longtime advocate for improving care for low-income residents.
"Enormous problems in the United States' health care system persist, and they have grown worse during the current recession," she writes. "While not perfect, the act offers sound and comprehensive approaches that will improve access to health care for millions of Americans." Read the whole commentary
This commentary can also be found in the current issue of the Virginia News Letter Published by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service and UVA Today.
Del. Hope 2011 Elder Rights Award Winner
By Mary Dooley
Del. Hope 2011 Elder Rights Award Winner
Kathy Pryor, chair of the Virginia Elder Rights Coalition (VERC), said “Both Del. Hope and Sen. Whipple were perfect patrons because they cared about the issue and they were articulate advocates for the bills.” She remarked that both are “The epitome of a legislator who is in the business for all the right reasons – because they want to make Virginia a better place for all its inhabitants.” More
VaPERL Activists Laud Court's Ruling
By Julian Walker
The court on Thursday concluded that a law prohibiting lenders from refinancing, renewing or extending loans applied to situations when a borrower repaid a loan and was given another credit line immediately after.
This practice was commonplace in Virginia for years, according to Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center.
But the Supreme Court found that "the proceeds from each new loan were being used to repay the previous loan."
That determination "should put legislators on notice that the predatory lenders cannot be expected to follow the law when reform measures are passed," said Dana Wiggins of the Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending. Read the Full Story
Virginia Supreme Court Rules 9.2 Million Illegal Payday Loans were made
By Dana Wiggins
This Supreme Court decision exposes how predatory lenders mislead borrowers and the public. Payday lenders and other predatory lenders market their loans as “a short-term loan to meet a financial emergency”. But the high court had a better description of these loans: “…a vicious cycle of debt.” Read the Press Release
See a related Editorial by the Virginian Pilot
Letter to the Editor: Ryan's Budget is Cruel and Draconian
By Jill Hanken
The proposal is completely lopsided, imposing an estimated two-thirds of the cuts in programs that provide essential services to low-income populations. Medicaid, which in Virginia serves nearly 1 million elderly, disabled, children and pregnant women, would be changed to a block grant and cut by more than 20 percent. This would shift more financial responsibility to states, leading to dangerous cuts in Virginia's already lean program, now ranked 48th in the nation in per capita Medicaid spending. A full 70 percent of Virginia's Medicaid spending is for elderly and disabled people who require acute and long-term-care services. What will happen if their nursing home or personal care services are eliminated? Read the Whole Letter
Woman Wins Payday Battle
By Pete DeLea
After 33 of these transactions, between March 2005 and November 2007, she contacted Blue Ridge Legal Services.
Penrod eventually took the lawsuit to trial in Shenandoah County Circuit Court in December 2009.
By the time the case went to court, the Virginia General Assembly already had passed legislation that clarified the law on the legality of refinancing payday loans. So, the question came down to what was legal prior to the 2008 law going into effect.
Penrod argued the company's practice was illegal because it was simply refinancing a loan, as outlined in state statute prior to 2008. Read the Full Story
50-state effort to write down troubled mortgages starts to crumble
By James R. Hood
In Virginia, the director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center said he is troubled that the talk of “moral hazards” seems prefaced on the assumption that the homeowners – not the banks – are the ones guilty of wrongdoing.
"They [the banks] seem to be getting the benefit of the doubt -- despite the fact that they have been caught falsifying documents and abusing the legal system," Speer said, according to the Roanoke News. Read the Full Story
In Foreclosure Settlement Talks With Banks, Predictions of a Long Process
By David Streitfeld
The government proposals require homeowners in foreclosure to be treated on an individual basis and would put in place a variety of measures that would encourage banks to modify mortgages rather than evict.
“I’m really hopeful something comes out of this,” said Jay Speer of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. “It’s starting to look like the last chance for real reform. The Virginia legislature still has this amazing allegiance to the big banks.” Read the Full Story
Cuccinelli Raises 'moral hazzard' Issue in Mortgage Settlement Case
By Laurence Hammack
Cuccinelli Raises 'moral hazzard' Issue in Mortgagae Settlement Case
Banks have argued that any mistakes were technical, and that they didn't change the fact that the homeowner being foreclosed on was in fact delinquent.
Speer, who serves on the Virginia Foreclosure Task Force, said he's dismayed to hear the banks' arguments repeated by some of the attorney generals who agreed to investigate them.
"It's always amazing to me that people always seem to take the position that the homeowner is going to do the wrong thing, and the banks are going todo the right thing." he said. Read the Full Story
McDonnell Signs Car title Bill
By Rosalind S. Helderman
The measure had received overwhelming support in the Democratic-led Senate but passed after a tough legislative battle on the floor of the House of Delegates. Consumer groups said Monday they were disappointed McDonnell did not veto the measure.
“This is very discouraging that Governor McDonnell and many legislators would go out of their way to pass legislation helping this business whose sole purpose is to exploit the economic hardships faced by many people,” said Dana Wiggins, a spokesperson for Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending, in a statement. Read the Full Story
Virginia Consumer Groups Hity Saslaw Over Car title Lending
By Rosalind S. Helderman
"The Senator has worked to quash every bill introduced in the Senate that would have put reasonable ceilings on interest rates to help and protect Virginia consumers," said Ben Greenberg, Legislative Director of Virginia Organizing. "These loans hurt families in desperate financial circumstances, suck money out of the economy and are widely condemned by business and consumer groups alike -- in fact, almost everyone except the payday and car title lenders themselves." Read the Full Story
Changes to VA Foreclosure Laws
Virginia Puts Homeowners on a Fast Track to Foreclosure
By David S. Hilzenrath
At a time when lenders have been cutting corners and using phony documents to seize huge numbers of houses, the hurdles can be insurmountable, according to lawyers, consumer advocates and borrowers who have tried to save their homes. "There's no question that people are losing their homes when they should not be," said James W. "Jay" Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Read the Full Story
Term for Foreclosure Notice Under Scrutiny
By Laurence Hammack
"Zero," Speer said when asked what efforts the General Assembly has made in recent years to reform the foreclosure process.
"It's only been in the past several months that people have realized something is wrong with the foreclosure process," Petersen said. Read the Full Story
Bank Reform Could Mean More Fees
By Gray Hall
Jay Speer, with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, says before the new regulations, some of the banking fees were like financial traps.
"For instance, you go and want to get cash out of the ATM and instead of not giving you the cash because your account is over drawn, they would just automatically give you $10 and then you may end up paying as much as $100 in fees," he said. See the video clip
Virginia Healthcare Challenge has its Day in Court
A U.S. District Court judge heard arguments on the constitutionality of the national health care lawMonday, October 18th 2010. See VPLC and partners speaking out
Foreclosure System Ripe for Errors in Virginia
By Laurence Hammack
Unlike when renters are evicted, there is no judicial oversight of foreclosures in Virginia, unless the homeowner files a challenge. Virginia is one of 27 states that does not require judicial approval. In the states that do, the process can take much longer -- six months or more. "The lack of protection for homeowners is just amazing to me," said Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Read the full story
The Through Different Eyes: the Faces of Poverty book is featured in Shutterbug Magazine’s annual book roundup Read an excerpt
Virginia Business and the Virginia Bar Association selected Executive Director James Speer as a 2010 Virginia Legal Elite winner.
Speer was selected as a winner in the Legal Services/Pro Bono category. The Legal Elite recognition awards top lawyers in the state after a vote by their peers across the commonwealth.
Va. Car Title Lending Law Takes Effect Friday
By Dena Potter, The Associated Press
"We want to stress to everybody that no one should get these loans. They're not a good deal for anybody," said Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, which has worked with attorneys to bring dozens of lawsuits against car title lenders. "At least the ones that don't take my advice and get one anyway are not going to get screwed so badly." Read the Full Story
Arts & Extras: Link exhibit chronicles life of those in poverty
By Mike Allen, The Roanoke Times
"In 2005, the nonprofit Virginia Poverty Law Center, which advocates for low-income families, held a juried statewide photography competition that ultimately produced the exhibit, which contains about 50 works from 15 artists documenting poverty in 21st century Virginia." Read Full Story
Consumer voices sought on health-care panel
By Olympia Meola, The Richmond Times-Dispatch
"This is a critical perspective that needs to be at the table where decisions will be made. Providers, insurance companies and academics are there. Consumers have vital interests too," said Jill Hanken, staff attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center. Read Full Story
States to protect borrowers who turn to cars for cash
By Sudeep Reddy, The Wall Street Journal
"They moved to the car-title model because they realized there were hardly any requirements," said Dana Wiggins of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group for low-income people that pushed for the new state laws. Read Full Story
New protections for VA victims of stalking, family abuse
By Monique Coppola, Public News Service
Susheela Varky, an attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center, says the new law will make gaining protection much easier for victims who feel they are still in danger - even when their original protective order is about to expire. Read Full Story