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The time to bring the Commonwealth of Virginia into compliance with campaign finance restrictions is long overdue. Support for S.B. 377 is overwhelming and I agree it is necessary. Donors expect that their hard-earned $$ will be used for campaign and political purposes to advance policies in their interests, not an elected official’s personal interests. The ability of an elected official to use campaign funds for personal use is too great a temptation to go unchecked without significant regulation. Pass this bill to limit the potential for corrupt practices and restore integrity to the Commonwealth’s campaign finance structure. TY.

My name is Heidi Drauschak and last year I ran for state senate in SD35. I raised almost a million dollars. Under Virginia's current law, I could have turned around and spent that money on anything -- a yacht, a trip to the Bahamas, fancy jewelry, and/or steak dinners. I could have bought myself a new house. I of course did not make any of those purchases, but it is alarming that in Virginia I could have -- legally. My donors would have had absolutely no recourse, because it would have been perfectly legal. Virginia is one of the only places left in the United States where this behavior is still legal and presumably acceptable. Regardless of how often it actually happens, a lack of laws addressing these issues (and the General Assembly's public inaction on this issue for nearly a decade) is eroding public faith in the our government and in our elected officials. If these bills continue to die, advocates and citizens must assume that campaign funds are being used for personal use. It is time that the General Assembly finally act and make the personal use of campaign funds illegal, bringing us in line with the rest of the country on this issue.

I’m Jackie Rivas and I support SB377, which prohibits personal use of campaign funds. Virginia is ranked near the bottom of the 50 states regarding anti-corruption measures for public officials. It’s downright embarrassing. Virginians are losing faith in their elected officials because they refuse to rein in abuse of campaign funds. Certainly, the General Assembly can enact one bill this session to shed some light on the use of campaign funds. I ask you to support SB377.

Please support SB 377 - There needs to be common sense legislative codified oversight in making sure that campaign funds are spent appropriately in Virginia. According to the National Conference of State Legislators Virginia is one of only five states without restrictions on contributions.

Virginia is one of only a few states that fails to regulate political spending by elected officials. The lack of common sense regulations on political spending does not inspire public confidence on the part of the voting public. While elected officials are supposed to note the purposes for which their campaign money was spent in their disclosures, under the current regulatory structure, there exists the possibility, or at least the appearance of a possibility that campaign funds may be spent on personal use outside of campaign expenditures. With campaign donations growing exponentially in Virginia, it is critical to put regulations into place that assure the public that elected officials are in place to serve the public interest, not personal or private interests. We support SB377 sponsored by Senator Boysko as a basic first step in bringing Virginia into the norm in campaign finance regulations across the country. Lauren Coletta Senior Advisor Common Cause Virginia

This bill to reign-in personal use of campaign finances sponsored by Sen. Boysko is a lowest standard and minimum guarantee of good campaign finance governance. This anti-"George Santos" bill is a bill I strongly support, as do a majority of Virginians. Why Virginia does not have these safeguards and guardrails already is difficult for many citizens to understand, notably those of use who are restricted in all walks of life from using resources for personal gain. I strongly urge the House P&E Commitee to move this bill to the floor of the General Assembly for a full vote. I think its past due.

Using campaign funds for personal use is absolutely not acceptable. Far too much money is wasted on negative campaiging and then to know that those funds go for personal use is reprehensible. I strongly support SB377 and I hope you will as well.

My name is Jessica Mott, from Arlington VA. I am a member of the executive committee of the grassroots group We of Action (WofA). I support SB 377, which would restrict personal use of campaign funds. As a campaign contributor, it is important for me to have the confidence that my donations are being used for their intended purpose, the campaign expenses. This trust requires my knowing that candidates are restricted from using these funds for their personal use. This bill establishes well-defined and consistent standards of what does and does not entail personal use, so that all candidates are subject to the same yardstick. It includes strong provisions to prevent and penalize frivolous complaints. This should help prevent inappropriate accusations. In fact, the clarity in guidelines should help strengthen legislators’ ability to defend themselves from negative publicity. The actual incidence of formal complaints stemming from enactment of this legislation is likely to negligible, based on my perusal over the last several years of news articles regarding campaign finance in other states. Accordingly, the Department of Elections and legal authorities should easily be able to handle implementation within their existing budgets. Further, legislators will not be burdened. Virginia is currently one of only two states without restrictions on the personal use of campaign finance. According to a 2021 opinion poll, 73% of Virginians support restricting personal use of campaign funds. Passage of this bill is long overdue and should be low hanging fruit. I urge that you all support this bill.

I strongly support SB377. Last June, members of 27 Hampton Roads organizations met together to prioritize legislative issues and we agreed that campaign finance reform was a priority. Preventing undue influence by deep-pocket donors, or the public perception of such influence, is critical to voters' trust in representative democracy. Virginia's approach to campaign finance has become notorious and shames us compared to other states. The result is that the cost of running in a competitive election in Virginia has become astronomical. Virginia's vaunted transparency would be inaccessible to voters if not for the work of the Virginia Public Access Project. And still it was an insufficient deterrent to at least one candidate who is no longer a legislator. I recommend today's editorial in the Virginian Pilot. http://digitaledition.pilotonline.com/infinity/article_share.aspx?guid=5f17f6cf-713b-45e7-8f1a-26e798fcea68 SB377 is a modest step in the right direction.

I support SB377 which restricts the personal use of campaign contributions. Its high time that the legislature finally adopts this commonsense measure which will ensure certainty and accountability with regard to the use of campaign funds. Efforts to pass this legislation have gone on for over ten years --- now is the time to act! I can’t tell you how many of my friends and neighbors shake their head in disbelief when I explain that Virginia has no guidelines prevent to the misuse of campaign funds. SB 377 has strong bipartisan support in the Senate, passing 35-4. The House companion bill, HB40, passed this committee 21-0., yet died in the appropriations committee due to confusion over the costs of implementation; this despite compelling comments from JLARK which showed that information from several states that implementation costs are minimal. Legislators are rightfully concerned about frivolous complaints being used as a political cudgel – In this regard, SB377 contains a detailed process whereby the State Board of Elections investigates alleged violations. This process ensures that claims are fairly adjudicated and minimizes frivolous and unsubstantiated claims. Candidates may also request an advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections concerning the requirements. I urge that committee to give careful consideration to SB377 and support its passage. Thank you, Bill Millhouser, Fairfax County

I support SB377! Virginia has one of the weakest campaign finance legal structures in the whole United States! Year after year our General Assembly fails to address the unlimited, unrestricted millions of dollars that pour in from literally every corner of our country and beyond to influence how our elected officials - YOU - vote. The nonpartisan Wason Center polled Virginia citizens and 73% support restricting PERSONAL use of campaign funds - you can add me to that list right at the top. Supporting SB377 is a no-brainer, nonpartisan place to begin to make changes to the lack of transparency and accountability of campaign donations. Please do the RIGHT thing for our Commonwealth and support SB377. We do not need a George Santos fiasco here in our beloved Virginia. Thank you.

I write to urge you to support SB 377. Virginia ranks poorly on campaign finance laws. The non-partisan Coalition for Integrity ranked Virginia 46 out of 51 jurisdictions in their SWAMP Index. Unlike most states and the federal government, there are no currently legal restrictions on how candidates spend campaign funds. Legislation to ban the personal use of campaign funds has been introduced in the legislature as far back as 2014. Every year, legislators have failed to pass such legislation, often citing the need for more study to refine the bills. The public’s confidence in government has eroded because Virginians increasingly perceive that their legislators engage in “pay-to-play” politics and have failed to prevent the abuse of campaign funds. 73% of Virginians support closing the personal use loophole. Please vote in favor of SB 377! Thank you.

I have attached my written testimony below in strong support of SB377.

The League of Women Voters supports SB 377, as we do its companion in the House, HB 40. Currently, Virginia has no legal restrictions on how candidates can use their campaign funds, except for surplus funds at the end of a campaign or term of office. As such, Virginia has rightfully earned its rank of 46 out of 51 on the non-partisan Coalition for Integrity’s S.W.A.M.P. Index.

Seriously? In Virginia, one of the best states in the country, by almost any measure, we are really going to continue to allow legislators to use campaign donations to buy houses, cars, vacations, etc? VA rightly leads the country in voter access. We do a great job with voter registration (same day registration!!! Yay!!), with a long no excuse absentee voting period, all good stuff. But our campaign finance laws - who is PAYING for the legislators to run in the first place - are among the worst in the country. Prohibiting personal use of campaign contributions is a critical first step. You KNOW it’s the right thing to do. Please support SB 377. Thank you for your service to our state and for bringing this very fundamental reform to Virginia. Cordially, Bo Harmon Leesburg

I urge the committee to approve SB377.

Thank you for taking up and hopefully reporting this bill that passed the Senate 35-4. When the House version got referred to Appropriations with no action before Crossover, I was baffled and dismayed. This is a very important guiderail, that has been road tested at the federal level for years. Federal Election Commission advisories and rulings on a wide range of topics can be looked up easily by those seeking guidance. JLARC checked with states that follow the federal use restrictions and found that the cost was minimal. I have not been involved with BigMoneyOutVA for long, but in the time I have volunteered, I’ve seen the House pass this bill on a bipartisan basis, but it died in the Senate, and the Senate passed it on a bipartisan basis but it died in House committee last year. Please get it done. It’s time for results. We are the rare state that leaves it totally open to lawmakers on whether they can legally spend campaign donations on personal uses such as mortgages, vacations, spa days, home improvements, etc. Some say there has never been a problem, but who knows, we may be attracting George Santos types. I was Press Secretary for a Congressman, one of the so-called Watergate babies that were elected in 1974. My heart aches at how many campaign finance laws that we passed during those post-Watergate years have been killed by SCOTUS. But restricting personal use of campaign money is still allowed. Let’s not be one of the few rare exceptions any longer. The current bill does allow dependent/child care that would be required because of campaign related activities, as do more than half the states through specific law or board of election rulings

SB 377 Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds Senator Boysko I support the passage of this bill. Virginia needs it. The public’s confidence in government has eroded because Virginians increasingly perceive that their legislators engage in “pay-to-play” politics and have failed to prevent the abuse of campaign funds. 73% of Virginians support closing the personal use loophole, I am among them. Unlike most states and the federal government, there are currently no legal restrictions on how candidates spend campaign funds. This is a reasonable bill. Thank you, Mindy Mitchell, 3601 5th St S, Apt 306, Arlington VA 22204

I’m Nancy Morgan, Coordinator of BigMoneyOutVA. We support this bill (SB377) which probably should call the George Santos bill. As you know, many of the infractions Santos was charged with are legal in Virginia, but certainly not under federal law nor in most other states. Just to remind you, this is the 10th year this bill has been introduced (2014) We hope that it gets passed so we don’t have to keep testifying on what is a common sense bill which builds citizens' confidence in their legislators and their democratic institutions. Just to remind you, Virginia is unique in this country in that I can give my legislator millions of dollars for his campaign and he can spend the money on himself, such as renting a golf course in the Bahamas and inviting lobbyists to join him. This bill protects legislators by addressing frivolous complaints through the establishment of a robust and confidential review process, and moves Virginia forward in terms of good governance legislation. It is supported by 73 percent of Votes, who in 2021 polling by the Wason Center, support restricting the personal use of campaign funds. Many thanks to Senator Boysko for her persistence in introducing a bill which moves Virginia forward in terms of good governance legislation.