This story was reported and written by Radio IQ.
Members of the Virginia General Assembly are currently engaged in a number of debates about public policy issues. But some of the important issues are NOT being debated.
Campaign finance reform died a quiet death in the Senate last week – a victim of a procedural move that killed it in a way that prevented a debate and avoided a recorded vote.
"You know, we're not here to debate. We're here to get things done," says Senator Creigh Deeds, a Democrat from Charlottesville. He had a bill that would’ve set limits on how much money candidates could take in political contributions.
"I was surprised to get it out of committee because in the past something like that hadn't gotten out of committee," Deeds explains. "But once it got to the floor, I was surprised that people were squirming. But they were. And I just didn't have the votes. Simple as that."
Senators don't like squirming. That's why they also did the same trick to a bill from Senator Danica Roem, a Democrat from Manassas. That bill would’ve banned money from corporations. They didn't debate that one either.
"None of the Republicans were going to vote for it that I know of, and we had Democrats who weren't going to vote for it, and so therefore it just died in a more peaceful death than it otherwise would have had," Roem says. "But as far as I'm concerned, anytime I file a bill, I'm not worried whether it dies violently on the Senate floor or whether it dies quietly. It’s just, I'm doing this because my constituents believe in it."
Deeds and Roem say they're not done with this issue because Virginia has no limits on who can donate or how much money they can give – a Wild West approach that has concerned critics for years.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
