State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for Virginia Attorney General, is unveiling new policies to protect the consumer.

Cuccinelli spoke about the changes he wants to bring to consumer protection. He said, if he were elected, his office would do more with less.

No new staff would be hired to go after businesses that violate Virginia's consumer protection law.

Cuccinelli says he would have a role in bringing justice to the consumer.

At this time, he says consumer protection is not running as efficiently as he thinks it should. He says he's looking out for Virginian's best interest, by reducing frustration and cost to consumers.

Cuccinelli says, "The understanding by the lawyers of the A.G. Office of Consumer Protection Laws can also help sort through finding the legitimate complaints and separating out the frivolous complaints, prior to the expenditure of great efforts from businesses, in response to these things, because I know businesses in Virginia take this very seriously."

Cuccinelli is looking to make the Attorney General's office the single point of contact for both consumers and businesses. He says, should the Republican ticket win, consumer protection would move into the 21st century.

On Democratic candidate Steve Shannon's Website, he says he'll go after companies and agencies that try to defraud customers or make false claims about services.

In a statement responding to Cuccinelli's proposal, Shannon writes, “Consumer protection is an important issue for the Attorney General. Unfortunately, Sen. Cuccinelli opposes a flat cap on interest rates for predatory payday lenders who harm consumers with 400-percent interest rate loans. I believe protecting Virginia’s consumers means putting them ahead of a personal political agenda.”

On Wednesday, Shannon released a proposal for overhauling ethics laws, along with harsher penalties for legislators and government employees who violate them.