Lawmakers are in Richmond trying to figure out a way to help people caught up in the economic crisis.
One plan might help with utility bills.
Remember that moratorium the state declared for disconnecting utilities, like electricity, gas and water? That ends in September. That means many people will be trying to figure out how to make ends meet while also catching up on back-payments for utilities.
Dana Wiggins at the Virginia Poverty Law Center says they’ll need a plan. “Without any sort of real plan it could be that people might be spending more in recovery of their income they might be spending more of a percentage of their income on utilities in some cases that they might be spending on their mortgage or rent.”
That’s why Senator Jennifer McClellan of Richmond introduced a bill that requires utilities to create an emergency debt repayment plan, allowing people up to 24 month to pay back all the money accrued during the six-month moratorium. “If we’re not thinking long term on how do we help them pay it back then we just prolong the inevitable, and we want to do everything we can to keep people from losing power, gas and water in the middle of a health pandemic.”
Delegate Lashrecse Aird has a similar bill on the House side. Both bills are waiting to be heard in committee.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
