(The Center Square) — Virginia lawmakers closed a long-standing loophole that allowed politicians to use campaign funds for personal expenses, an issue that has drawn increasing scrutiny in recent years.
The bill passed the Senate 40-0 and will now go to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk. He will either sign it into law, veto it, or amend it and send it back for approval.
The Campaign Integrity Act: Personal Use Ban (SB1002 and HB2165) passed both chambers of the General Assembly, making Virginia the 49th state to prohibit this type of crossover spending. The bill, led by Sen. Jennifer Boysko, D-Herndon, seeks to restore public trust in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s campaign finance system.
“This bill fixes a loophole that undermines public trust and transparency in our election process,” Boysko said at a press conference Wednesday ahead of the vote. “By sending this bill to the governor’s desk, we will take a long-overdue first step toward restoring faith in our democracy and ending Virginia’s status as the ‘Wild West’ of campaign finance.”
This bill emerges because, for years, Virginia has had almost no restrictions on how one could spend campaign funds. Unlike most states, candidates could use donor money for anything, including luxury vacations, country club memberships and expensive meals, so long as they kept their campaign account open. Once a campaign ended, any remaining funds had to be disposed of within certain legal guidelines.
“We all know what is at stake, trust in our democracy, faith in our institutions, and the ability for everyday Virginians to have a real voice in government,” said Del. Josh Cole, D-Fredericksburg.”This session, we are finally seeing the breaking of day, and we have carried some pieces of legislation that are going to restore trust in our democracy and give people a little bit of hope.”
The bill has received bipartisan backing, with Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, standing alongside Del. Marcus Simon, D-Falls Church, in advocating for the reform.
“I stood shoulder to shoulder with Del. Simon as we presented this bill together in a bipartisan fashion,” Cherry said.
Simon explained how oversight resulted in Virginia’s lack of a personal use ban.
“It’s not illegal to convert campaign funds to personal use during your campaign. At the end of your campaign, you’ve got to donate it. There’s a limited list of things you can do with it, but as long as you keep your campaign alive, you can spend that money on whatever you want,” said Simon.
According to the lawmakers, polling shows overwhelming public support for the reform, with roughly 88% of Democrats, 86% of Independents and 85% of Republicans in favor of a ban on personal use of campaign funds.
Gov. Youngkin has yet to say if he’ll sign the bill, but Cherry noted that the administration is “generally supportive of the idea.”
The bill also establishes a process for determining whether a specific campaign expense is appropriate, but candidates can seek advisory opinions from the State Board of Elections if they are unsure.
The legislation also explicitly states that campaign funds are able to be used for childcare and dependent care while candidates are campaigning or serving in office, an improvement that lawmakers say will promote accessibility for working parents.
Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler, D-Virginia Beach, emphasized the significance of the reform, saying, “As we look forward and think about everything going on in our country, we can look and say Virginia is taking those first steps to bring accountability to the commonwealth and into our elected officials.”
While the bill doesn’t impose donation limits or spending caps, Boysko said she would like to see spending levels on the cost of our campaigns. “The money raised for campaigns throughout the state is extraordinary when compared to others,” she said.