Each year, VPLC’s legislative advocates work towards policies that support every family’s ability to live, work, and thrive. VPLC’s 2026 priorities focus on one goal: building an affordable Virginia where families can afford the basics, are protected from exploitation, and can build a better future.
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Our 2026 Legislative Priorities
Fair, Safe, and Affordable Rental Housing
- Cap application fees and deposits
- Require notice of rent increases
- Allow local rent stabilization
- Eliminate rental junk fees
- Enforce repair and habitability standards
- Expand eviction prevention protections
- Protect manufactured home residents and support ownership
Families, Health, and Essential Needs
- Keep children safely with families
- Strengthen child welfare legal support
- Protect survivors of violence
- Prevent loss of health coverage
- Protect SNAP and school meals
- Reduce utility shutoffs
- Ensure safe nursing home staffing
Economic Fairness, Consumer Rights, and Fair Courts
- Raise unemployment benefits
- End full wage garnishment
- Protect wages in bank accounts
- Raise wages and guarantee paid leave
- Curb predatory debt collection
- Limit excessive eviction attorney fees
- Allow phone access in courts
These priorities move Virginia toward a Commonwealth where families are housed and safe, workers keep more of what they earn, children grow up healthier, and no one is trapped in unfair systems.
Virginia Poverty Law Center will continue advancing policies that make Virginia fairer, safer, and more affordable for everyone.
Our Legislative Advocates
Valerie L’Herrou, Esq.
Deputy Director of the Center for Family Advocacy
Staff Attorney, Family & Child Welfare
Susheela Varky, Esq.
Director of the Center for Family Advocacy and Legal Assistance for Victim-Immigrants of Domestic Abuse (LA VIDA)
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Jill A Hanken Scholarship Program
For over 40 years, Jill Hanken worked at VPLC and paved the way for better healthcare in the Commonwealth. A relentless advocate for low-income Virginians, she successfully fought for advances that have given hundreds of thousands access to healthcare.
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Our Areas of Work
We help make Virginia better for low-income residents in a number of different areas.