Bills for campaign finance reform dwindle, ignored in Virginia legislature.

This article discusses how campaign finance reform bills in Virginia’s Democratic legislature have been delayed without votes. Despite the attention given to campaign finance reform in recent years and the desire to limit the influence of special interest groups, no major campaign finance legislation has made it through both chambers of the legislature. Democratic-sponsored campaign finance proposals have been allowed to expire without a hearing in Democratic-controlled committees, preventing any new laws from being passed. The article highlights specific examples of bills that have failed to gain traction, including a proposal to prohibit candidates from accepting campaign money from public utilities like Dominion Energy, and a bill to set caps on donations from corporations and individuals. Additionally, a bill to prohibit spending campaign cash on personal uses unrelated to politics was blocked in the budget-writing committee due to cost concerns from state agencies. Despite the setbacks, advocates for campaign finance reform remain optimistic and hope that regulations can be put in place to limit the flow of money into Virginia politics.