VIRGINIA BEACH — State Del. Tim Anderson, R-83rd District, has introduced measures that would limit donations in Virginia political contests and provide better resources so the public can track political giving.
The limit would be a significant change in Virginia, which does not cap contributions.
The Virginia Beach freshman lawmaker seeks campaign contribution limits [HB85], including limiting donations by an individual to a campaign to $2,900 per election cycle, similar to federal elections caps, and $5,000 per calender year to a political action committee. The bill would limit contributions to the general fund of a political party committee to $36,000 per year and donations to a party legal fund to $25,000 per year.
The bill also places constraints on transfers between committees.
And Anderson wants state election officials to improve access to campaign financial reporting data by making information searchable [HB86], a service the commonwealth does not provide online, though campaign finance reports can be reviewed individually online.
Anderson told The Independent News he wants election officials to develop a “data base system that’s maintained by the state department of elections that has easily-discoverable data” a citizen can export.
“We all rely on VPAP, which does do all of those things,” Anderson said, speaking of the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project, but, while Anderson said VPAP does a great job, that online resource is not a government service.
“I think that needs to be fixed,” Anderson said. “I think Virginia should have its own system.”
Anderson said the campaign finance bill essentially means to apply the federal limits to state politics.
“Virginia has unlimited campaign contribution guidelines,” he said, “so there is no dollar limit to how much someone can donate to a particular candidate, to a particular campaign. We’re going to try to pull down the federal limits, almost identical and verbatim to how federal officers have to run. … What’s happening is millionaires are buying elections in the state.”
Anderson said the legislation would give state elections officials “teeth” for enforcement when candidates try to skirt the rules. He said such a change can make a difference in who participates in Virginia elections.
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Anderson also introduced legislation to benefit his legal business. Ambivalent? Nah, duplicitous.