Governor Kaine and Delegate Steve Shannon traveled to Danville, Virginia, for the bill signing ceremonies for several pieces of consumer protection legislation.

House Bill 1469 requires companies to notify consumers and the office of the Attorney General when personal information is accidentally compromised. House Bill 1311 allows consumers to place a freeze on their credit reports, thus preventing new accounts from being opened in the consumer’s name.

“Identity theft can have terrible consequences on personal finances,” Shannon said. “Virginians now have greater power to protect their own credit.”

The Governor also signed a bill to give a 30-day reprieve to some homeowners facing foreclosure. This new law will help protect homeowners by giving them more time to work out a way to make payments before foreclosure proceedings start.

In Virginia, the foreclosure rate has more than doubled since the first quarter of 2006.

In addition to the bill signing ceremony, Delegate Shannon and Governor Kaine also traveled to Danville for the opening of an IKEA Swedwood furniture manufacturing plant, bringing approximately 750 jobs to the area.