Committee advances bill to protect $1,000 in bank accounts from garnishment

Senator Van Valkenburgh presented SB 301 as a negotiated consumer-protection measure to prevent garnishments from wiping out a person’s entire bank balance. The bill would automatically protect up to $1,000 in an account from garnishment and would automatically exempt four categories of deposits—unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation, public assistance (TANF) and child support—so people would not need to pursue court action to claim those protections.

Opponents including Matt McCool, an attorney for medical practices, warned that creditors—including physician practices that rely on patient payments—would lose collection tools and could respond by requiring upfront payments; he said that in other states similar protections led some clinics to change billing practices. The Virginia Creditors Bar Association also opposed the $1,000 exemption while supporting other bill components.

Supporters included the Virginia Poverty Law Center, AARP Virginia, Legal Aid Justice Center, Virginia Credit Union Association, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Virginia Bankers Association, who described the measure as a compromise that follows practices in other states and reduces hardships when garnishments hit.

On the committee roll call recorded in the transcript the clerk reported the motion to report SB 301 with a tally recorded as "As 8, no 6."