Virginia junk fee ban awaits action from governor

Virginia consumers could be free of costly junk fees if the governor signs off on a piece of legislation passed earlier this year. 

Twin bills in the Virginia House and Senate update the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and force certain businesses to disclose the total price of services and products before a purchase. All hidden fees and surcharges tacked on near the end of a purchase would become a transparent part of the advertised price, according to the legislation.

The bills cleared the General Assembly but are stalled at the governor’s office.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin sent the bills back with the request to have a 2026 reenactment clause, which means it would go through the same legislative process next year. All 100 seats in the House of Delegates face an upcoming election, which could change the current Democratic majority and possibly sway the bill’s outcome next year.

Youngkin also asked for health clubs to be included in the list of businesses exempt from mandatory fee disclosure.

There was some bipartisan support among lawmakers, who rejected his changes. Now he has until May 2 to take any counter action, such as a veto.

Sen. Stella Pekarsky, D-Fairfax County, introduced Senate Bill 1212 and Del. Adele McClure, D-Arlington, sponsored House Bill 2515. Pekarsky first introduced the mandatory fee disclosure bill during the 2024 session, but it was shot down in the House after passing the Senate.

Pekarsky told the Senate General Laws and Technology Committee they worked on the legislation in the past year to ensure it was clear and understandable.

“This new version of the bill is modeled after legislation that was successfully passed in other states,” Pekarsky said.

 An average U.S. household spends around $650 in junk fees a year on the 10 most dominant industries that use junk fees. In addition to credit card and banking fees, some of the fees are from industries that include airlines, hotels and food delivery, according to a 2024 White House  report.

The amount paid in hidden or “junk” fees could be in the thousands of dollars for a household, according to Ryan O’Toole, the co-executive director of Freedom Virginia, a nonpartisan organization focused on economic security and affordability. These fees only help the industries make extra profit; customers don’t receive any additional benefits for paying these mandatory add-ons, he said.

“Especially in today’s economy, we feel like the General Assembly, state government, should be doing anything it possibly can to lower the cost of living for the working people,” O’Toole said.

Rhena Hicks, the other executive director, told the Senate panel that transparency is important for consumers making online purchases.

“Virginians deserve honesty and truth in pricing,” Hicks said. “We deserve to know the full cost upfront. Hidden fees undermine trust.”

Youngkin’s substitutes will delay Virginia consumers from making informed financial decisions, according to Jay Speer. He is executive director of the nonprofit Virginia Poverty Law Center, which advocates for low-income residents.

“It just basically says you have to pass the same bill again next year to make it go into law,” Speer said about the reenactment clause. “So it’s just to me another way of vetoing it.”

The governor’s action deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Friday, May 2.

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.