Senate Panel Advances Long-Stalled Campaign Finance Reform

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) A Virginia Senate committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds for personal expenses like a mortgage or country club membership a change lawmakers have long resisted adopting.

Applause broke out in the room after the bill from Sen. Jennifer Boysko and three Democratic colleagues passed unanimously.

Virginia state lawmakers are currently outliers in the nation for their ability to spend money donated to their campaigns on virtually anything. Despite a bipartisan insistence that lawmakers want to find compromise on a reform, similar bills adding limits to how campaign funds can be spent have been repeatedly defeated in recent years.

Nearly all other states and the federal government prohibit the use of campaign funds by a candidate or their families, Boysko said as she presented her bill. But in Virginia, we still could take our family on a Caribbean cruise if we choose, and I dont think thats right.

The bill would prohibit a candidate from using campaign funds for an expense that would exist irrespective of the person seeking, holding or maintaining office. It allows contributions to be used for ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office.