My name is Mike Cantwell. I am the Vice President of FairVote Virginia and the Virginia Chapter Leader for Veterans for Political Innovation (VPI). I am also a retired Naval Officer, Federal Government Employee, and a 30 resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under current state and federal law, a retiring active-duty soldier/sailor or a retiring federal government employee has the right to run for a local constitutional office as an Independent. If SB39 is enacted, they would risk violating federal law (Hatch Act) if they campaign for office in a “partisan election” even if they ran as an Independent. They would also be prohibited from participating in "partisan political activities" such as gathering petition signatures or hosting a fundraiser for a friend or neighbor. Do we really need to put a party label on Sheriffs, Commissioners of the Revenue, Treasurers, Commonwealth's Attorneys, and Clerks of the Circuit Court? Most voters say no. Voters are tired of toxic partisan rhetoric. They want honest, competent local elected officials who swear an oath to serve and protect their local communities. I respectfully ask you to keep the status quo and allow military members and federal government employees to continue to run for local constitutional offices. I encourage you to lay this bill on the table.

Hello! I'm Damien Hughes, a member of the Virginia Independent Voters Association and a member of the Virginia chapter of the non-partisan group RepresentUs. Last month, I was fortunate enough to get to speak before this subcommittee in opposition to HB1262. I was very pleased that it was tabled. Today, I ask that you do the same to this companion bill, SB39. We don't need more partisanship in our society - we need less. There are good people out there who want to serve their communities by running for constitutional offices. Why should they be forced to shackle themselves to a political party? The duties of a constitutional officeer are in no way affected by their personal political ideology. And once candidates are forced to choose sides, campaigns will degenerate into partisan mudslinging contests that serve no purpose but to further erode citizens' trust in government. Further, it will encourage party organizations outside Virginia to throw their money around and influence our elections. I don't want a "Republican" sheriff or a "Democratic" treasurer. I simply want public servants who are focused on their local civic duties, not whose political keyster they have to kiss to stay in office. Let's continue to keep partisanship out of our constitutional offices. Say no to SB39 by laying it on the table. Thank you for your time and thoughtful attention.

I oppose SB39. There is no good reason to make non-partisan candidates or offices beholden to political ideologically. Some candidates who work for federal government, may hold certain non-partisan offices. If this bill passes, those person's would then be in violation of the Federal Hatch Act, if they ran for these offices. Please do not advance this bill.

I oppose SB39 because it expands partisan power into offices designed for neutral administration. Virginians do not need more opportunities to indulge divisive politics. Identifying party affiliation of candidates for offices that do not involve policymaking will alienate voters, discourage challengers, and remind everyone that their elected official is beholden to one party or another. No good can come of implied support of irrelevant issue positions.

Comments Document

As one of the nearly 80 percent of Virginians who want campaign finance reform, the 88 percent who want complete disclosure and 73% who want restrictions on personal use of campaign donations, I ask you to support the disclosure bills SB 222, Senator Jeremy McPike, and SB318, Senator Barbara Favola; Restricting personal use of campaign funds SB 463, Senator John Bell. We will watch and remember. Thank you, Mindy Mitchell -- Member BigMoneyOutVA Chapter of American Promise Arlington, VA 22204

My name is Jeff Coupe and I'm a resident of Richmond. I've lived in the Commonwealth for 27 years. As someone concerned with healthy democracy in the Commonwealth, I wanted to provide testimony today in support of these two disclosure bills, SB318 concerning campaign advertisement disclosure, and SB222 concerning strengthening of campaign finance reporting. To my mind, these two bills fundamentally enable good governance in fostering more transparent and accountable campaign practices. The bills promise greater visibility to the public and offer citizens the opportunity to evaluate political messaging and the exercise of responsible political voice in the electoral selection process of our representative government. The bills equally safeguard democracy itself by encouraging responsible and responsive campaign management. The bottom line is that these bills encourage ethical professional practices to which all elected officials, irrespective of party, would want to uphold and aspire. Consequently, these bills protect and promote the public interest of all Virginians. I trust that this body will move to enact them into law. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

Please vote for SB222 -- Mandatory electronic filing for all candidates. The Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform identified the need for this bill and approved it in principle. We ask for your support because this bill would strengthen disclosure by facilitating an electronic database which is more comprehensive, and can be more readily cross-checked through algorithms for completeness and accuracy. We note that it would facilitate the implementation of HB 492, which was approved on the Senate floor on March 1, 2022. Please vote for SB318 -- Electioneering communications and independent expenditures. This bill responds to recommendations of the Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform and reflects advice from the Campaign Legal Center. It adopts best practices from other states and closes a significant loophole. The burden of implementation would be on independent advertisers, not legislators. It would enable the public to better understand not only the content of ads, but the sources (including independent groups that do not coordinate with campaigns). The public would thereby be able to make better informed decisions as voters. Electioneering by independent groups are designed to implicitly affect election outcomes. The increased disclosure required by this bill would reduce dark money by bringing the contributions from independent entities into public view. Please vote for SB463 -- prohibited personal use of campaign funds. This bill would ensure that contributions to political campaigns are used for campaign purposes rather than the personal enrichment of politicians. Virginia is one of only two states with no restrictions on personal use of campaign funds. Arecent poll by the Wason Center shows that 73% of Virginians support restricting personal use of campaign funds.

Honorable Delegates: I am writing to ask you to support three common sense campaign finance reform bills: Senator Favola's disclosure bill (SB318), Senator McPike's disclosure bill (SB222) and Senator Bell's bill restricting personal use of campaign funds (SB463). A good governance platform for Virginia includes common sense campaign finance reform. Citizens of our Commonwealth, who on a bipartisan basis overwhelmingly support campaign finance reform, have been waiting too long for our legislators to wean themselves off of big money from special interests. Virginia badly lags almost all other states in this area. Please pass these bills which will improve our system of disclosure and our lax monitoring and enforcement system. The voices of regular citizens of the Commonwealth need to be heard. Thank you for listening. Very respectfully submitted, Robert Tate McLean

SB 222 Nancy Morgan with the VA Chapter of American Promise. We support this bill. 88 percent of Virginians want full disclosure, including of independent expenditures. Last year, as you know, nearly $7 million of opaque ads were funded which was used to attack candidates of both parties, some of you in this room today. This bill protects legislators by introducing reporting requirements on all independent expenditures as well as improving reporting by candidates and committees. We also appreciate the requirement that all reports be filed electronically. Most states require electronic filing, This bill makes an exception for low budget campaigns. It also closes a loophole which forces out-of-state monies, such as through out-of-state PACs, to be reported to the Dept of Elections. One critical element is that all of this reporting, including independent expenditures, be available to the public through a web based, user friendly portal. This was a recommendation to the Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance (which met over the August-October period) by the Campaign Legal Center.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports SB 222. All reports, regardless of office, should be electronic. Technology has developed over the years, making it easier to file electronic reports. Only by having these reports accessible on the internet, can voters have the information they need to understand the contributions made to each candidate. Thank you.

Comments Document

As one of the nearly 80 percent of Virginians who want campaign finance reform, the 88 percent who want complete disclosure and 73% who want restrictions on personal use of campaign donations, I ask you to support the disclosure bills SB 222, Senator Jeremy McPike, and SB318, Senator Barbara Favola; Restricting personal use of campaign funds SB 463, Senator John Bell. We will watch and remember. Thank you, Mindy Mitchell -- Member BigMoneyOutVA Chapter of American Promise Arlington, VA 22204

My name is Jeff Coupe and I'm a resident of Richmond. I've lived in the Commonwealth for 27 years. As someone concerned with healthy democracy in the Commonwealth, I wanted to provide testimony today in support of these two disclosure bills, SB318 concerning campaign advertisement disclosure, and SB222 concerning strengthening of campaign finance reporting. To my mind, these two bills fundamentally enable good governance in fostering more transparent and accountable campaign practices. The bills promise greater visibility to the public and offer citizens the opportunity to evaluate political messaging and the exercise of responsible political voice in the electoral selection process of our representative government. The bills equally safeguard democracy itself by encouraging responsible and responsive campaign management. The bottom line is that these bills encourage ethical professional practices to which all elected officials, irrespective of party, would want to uphold and aspire. Consequently, these bills protect and promote the public interest of all Virginians. I trust that this body will move to enact them into law. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

Please vote for SB222 -- Mandatory electronic filing for all candidates. The Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform identified the need for this bill and approved it in principle. We ask for your support because this bill would strengthen disclosure by facilitating an electronic database which is more comprehensive, and can be more readily cross-checked through algorithms for completeness and accuracy. We note that it would facilitate the implementation of HB 492, which was approved on the Senate floor on March 1, 2022. Please vote for SB318 -- Electioneering communications and independent expenditures. This bill responds to recommendations of the Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform and reflects advice from the Campaign Legal Center. It adopts best practices from other states and closes a significant loophole. The burden of implementation would be on independent advertisers, not legislators. It would enable the public to better understand not only the content of ads, but the sources (including independent groups that do not coordinate with campaigns). The public would thereby be able to make better informed decisions as voters. Electioneering by independent groups are designed to implicitly affect election outcomes. The increased disclosure required by this bill would reduce dark money by bringing the contributions from independent entities into public view. Please vote for SB463 -- prohibited personal use of campaign funds. This bill would ensure that contributions to political campaigns are used for campaign purposes rather than the personal enrichment of politicians. Virginia is one of only two states with no restrictions on personal use of campaign funds. Arecent poll by the Wason Center shows that 73% of Virginians support restricting personal use of campaign funds.

Honorable Delegates: I am writing to ask you to support three common sense campaign finance reform bills: Senator Favola's disclosure bill (SB318), Senator McPike's disclosure bill (SB222) and Senator Bell's bill restricting personal use of campaign funds (SB463). A good governance platform for Virginia includes common sense campaign finance reform. Citizens of our Commonwealth, who on a bipartisan basis overwhelmingly support campaign finance reform, have been waiting too long for our legislators to wean themselves off of big money from special interests. Virginia badly lags almost all other states in this area. Please pass these bills which will improve our system of disclosure and our lax monitoring and enforcement system. The voices of regular citizens of the Commonwealth need to be heard. Thank you for listening. Very respectfully submitted, Robert Tate McLean

SB318. Nancy Morgan from the VA Chapter of American Promise. We thank Delegate Favola for this bill which addresses some of the gaps highlighted in the taxpayer-funded Joint Sub-Committee on Campaign Finance Reform which met extensively last year. The bill addresses many of the gaps in the Virginia code related to ensuring more accountability for funding of ads, whether on-line, radio, TV, and print. It addresses independent expenditures also which is actually protection for legislators targeted by anonomous ads. The provisions in this bill are deemed best practices by the Campaign Legal Center, a national non-partisan organization with expertise in campaign finance. Furthermore, voters want more disclosure, in a recent poll, 88 percent of Virginia voters, irrespective of party, want disclosure and more transparency in reporting.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports SB 318. This bill addresses the need in Virginia to better define what is an “electioneering” expenditure and how to apply our rules to referendum elections. These changes better reflect how campaigns are currently financed. Thank you.

Mr chairman and members of the committee, I urge you to support SB463 which will provide clear guidance to prevent inappropriate use of campaign funds. This is the basic tenant of political ethics. Virginia is one of few states which do not have such laws. Please vote today to close this loophole. Thank you Bill Millhouser Falls Church

Comments Document

As one of the nearly 80 percent of Virginians who want campaign finance reform, the 88 percent who want complete disclosure and 73% who want restrictions on personal use of campaign donations, I ask you to support the disclosure bills SB 222, Senator Jeremy McPike, and SB318, Senator Barbara Favola; Restricting personal use of campaign funds SB 463, Senator John Bell. We will watch and remember. Thank you, Mindy Mitchell -- Member BigMoneyOutVA Chapter of American Promise Arlington, VA 22204

Please vote for SB222 -- Mandatory electronic filing for all candidates. The Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform identified the need for this bill and approved it in principle. We ask for your support because this bill would strengthen disclosure by facilitating an electronic database which is more comprehensive, and can be more readily cross-checked through algorithms for completeness and accuracy. We note that it would facilitate the implementation of HB 492, which was approved on the Senate floor on March 1, 2022. Please vote for SB318 -- Electioneering communications and independent expenditures. This bill responds to recommendations of the Joint Subcommittee on Campaign Finance Reform and reflects advice from the Campaign Legal Center. It adopts best practices from other states and closes a significant loophole. The burden of implementation would be on independent advertisers, not legislators. It would enable the public to better understand not only the content of ads, but the sources (including independent groups that do not coordinate with campaigns). The public would thereby be able to make better informed decisions as voters. Electioneering by independent groups are designed to implicitly affect election outcomes. The increased disclosure required by this bill would reduce dark money by bringing the contributions from independent entities into public view. Please vote for SB463 -- prohibited personal use of campaign funds. This bill would ensure that contributions to political campaigns are used for campaign purposes rather than the personal enrichment of politicians. Virginia is one of only two states with no restrictions on personal use of campaign funds. Arecent poll by the Wason Center shows that 73% of Virginians support restricting personal use of campaign funds.

Honorable Delegates: I am writing to ask you to support three common sense campaign finance reform bills: Senator Favola's disclosure bill (SB318), Senator McPike's disclosure bill (SB222) and Senator Bell's bill restricting personal use of campaign funds (SB463). A good governance platform for Virginia includes common sense campaign finance reform. Citizens of our Commonwealth, who on a bipartisan basis overwhelmingly support campaign finance reform, have been waiting too long for our legislators to wean themselves off of big money from special interests. Virginia badly lags almost all other states in this area. Please pass these bills which will improve our system of disclosure and our lax monitoring and enforcement system. The voices of regular citizens of the Commonwealth need to be heard. Thank you for listening. Very respectfully submitted, Robert Tate McLean

SB 463: My name is Nancy Morgan, Coordinator of the VA Chapter of American Promise, a non-partisan group doing advocacy on campaign finance reform. Please pass this bill which has been pending for years and, as you all well know, passed through this House 100-0 last year. It was redrafted, in extensive discussions by last year’s taxpayer-funded bicameral-bipartisan Joint Subcommittee to address the concerns laid out on the Senate floor last year. Del O’Quinn knows of this extensive work, having been on the committee. It has been further amended this year in the Senate to address legislators’ concern, in particular to outline how the bill actually protects legislators with a robust and private system addressing potential frivolous complaints. Complaints can’t be anonymous, and they can only be filed by constituents and donors. It reflects federal standards for the most part, addresses frivolous complaints, and moves Virginia forward in terms of good governance legislation.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia supports SB 463. This bill addresses the League’s long held belief that the personal use of campaign contributions should be disallowed. This change would modernize Virginia’s laws to reflect similar personal use rules enacted in 2021 in many other states, such as Arkansas, Montana and West Virginia, as described in a recent National Conference of State Legislatures report. We are particularly pleased that the unique nature of dependent care expenses is addressed in this bill and is included in the definition of “campaign expenditure,” as was recently accomplished in West Virginia and Vermont.

Virginia is the only state that still allows candidates for public office to spend campaign donations on personal expenses. While Senator Bell’s bill still allows expenditures on some personal expenses, it is a step in the right direction. The public perception of corruption in Virginia government is real and corrosive to public trust in state government. Please take this modest step in campaign finance reform.