President Biden spoke during his State of the Union address about federal legislation banning junk fees. Virginia Democrats dropped the ball on advancing similar legislation in the 2023 General Assembly session.
Lawmakers adjourned the 2023 session on Saturday without coming to agreement on two bills banning junk fees.
The more sweeping of the two was patroned by State Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax, whose bill would effectively ban junk fees by requiring businesses to disclose and advertise upfront any mandatory fees that are included in the total price of a product or service.
That bill passed the Senate by a 28-11 vote last month.
“I am astonished that some lawmakers chose to side with corporations who build their business models on deception instead of with their constituents,” Pekarsky said. “People deserve to know the cost of something upfront, not at check-out. Junk fees also hurt small businesses, including women and veteran-owned businesses, that are honest and transparent about their pricing. This is not the end of this conversation, which initially had strong bipartisan support. I will be back to fight for my constituents and for consumers all across Virginia.”
“The average family of four loses about $3,200 a year to junk fees, so we are talking about real financial relief,” said Del. Adele McClure, D-Arlington, who patroned the companion bill to Pekarsky’s measure in the House of Delegates. “President Biden, in his State of the Union address last week, took a bold stance against surprise junk fees. We’ll continue working to make sure Virginia can lead on strong consumer protections.”
A more limited proposal patroned by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, would have banned junk fees in concert and event tickets, and had received bipartisan support throughout the session. It also failed to pass yesterday.
“Middle class families are the foundation of our economy, and they deserve to be able to take their families to concerts, and to know the true price of the ticket,” Helmer said. “Many parents saved up to take their kids to see Beyoncé or Taylor Swift last year. Now, as many artists announce concerts that hardworking Virginians want to attend, families will continue to be hit by ridiculous surprise fees.”
This is a big miss by Virginia Democrats. A recent national poll showed broad support across party lines for banning junk fees, with 77 percent of voters – including 81 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 72 percent of Republicans – in favor of the effort.
“Even kids selling lemonade know it’s not fair to put a price on their sign to attract customers, then change that price the second people open up their wallets,” said Rhena Hicks, the executive director of Freedom Virginia, a Norfolk-based nonprofit that works toward the advancement of economic security policies through grassroots activism, voter engagement and legislative advocacy.
“It is disappointing that certain lawmakers chose to side with deceptive businesses,” Hicks said. “The only winners in delaying junk fee legislation are out-of-state corporations who want to scam Virginians out of their hard-earned money. We are thankful to our legislative champions for getting us as far as we did this session and look forward to getting even farther in 2025.”
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Chris Graham
