In accordance with the provisions of § 2.1-133.1 (b) of the Code of Virginia of 1950, I transmit to you herewith a report of the Division of Consumer Counsel of the Office of Attorney General.

As the statute provides, this report contains various recommendations, for your consideration and that of the General Assembly for legislation to protect the interest of the consumers in Virginia.

This statute, adopted by the 1970 General Assembly, charges the Division of Consumer Counsel with two primary responsibilities, first, to "represent and be heard on behalf of consumers' interests (before governmental commissions, agencies and departments, including the State Corporation Commission) and investigate such matters relating to such appearance."

The second responsibility of the Division is "to make such studies related to enforcing consumer laws of the Commonwealth as deemed necessary to protect the interests of consumers and recommend to the Governor and the General Assembly the enactment of such legislation deemed necessary to promote and protect the interests of the people as consumers." The purpose of this report is to fulfill the second responsibility imposed upon the Division of Consumer Counsel in the statute.

The necessity for mature and continuing consideration of the consumer interest, with emphasis on legislative action, is reflected in the bills prepared to implement this annual report In the following pages, I will outline the need for the legislat10n and discuss each proposal in general terms.

The welcome interest of the General Assembly in legislation to provide greater protection to Virginia consumers has expanded steadily since the Division of Consumer Counsel was established at my suggestion in 1970. One result has been the undertaking of a number of studies of consumer problems and legislation independent of the Division's own in the past year, legislative commissions and the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council, as well as standing committees of the General Assembly and the Office of The Administrator of Consumer Affairs, have made intensive studies of various questions affecting the consumer interest. Their detailed reports and recommendations will be available to you as the 1974 General Assembly convenes, and I will refer to them in this report whenever pertinent.

There are several clearly defined areas of consumer protection which the Division of Consumer Counsel has studied m the past year, and the legislative proposals prepared by the Division are discussed herein according to the area in which they are intended to be effective.

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ Andrew P. Miller
Attorney General