The new year is bringing several new laws that Virginians will need to remember. One of the new regulations affects money going to politicians and another affects payday lending.

Payday loans were one of the most debated issues in the Commonwealth in 2008. The loans are a quick way to get money that many described as pushing consumers into a cycle of debt.

"Anytime you have predatory lending going on out there legislators and regulators are right to act to protect consumers from people trying to take advantage of them," says Del. Chris Saxman.

The new law limits borrowers to one loan at a time and extends the time they have to repay it. It also creates a database to track who's borrowing, how much they borrow, and when.

"It was really one of the more high-profile issues during the past several sessions of the General Assembly," says state Sen. Mark Obenshain.

However, lenders are already trying to get around the new law by offering open-end credit products. Those are an unregulated type of loan that allows lenders to charge whatever they want as long as they don't charge anything for the first 25 days.

"A couple of legislators have already indicated that they're going to introduce new legislation," says Obenshain. "They consider that a gesture of bad faith on the part of the lenders."

Another new law aims to dispel feelings of bad faith when it comes to political campaigns. It requires Political Action Committees to give a candidate's campaign information about the donor of any designated contribution.

"Anytime you can bring more honesty more transparency and accountability to the campaign finance law, I think the citizens will be much happier knowing what's going on," says Saxman.