Bill > HB40

Introduced Session

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions. Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee to personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person's seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate's child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may request an advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations similar to those promulgated by the Federal Election Commission to implement the provisions of the bill and to publish an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the State Board of Elections' and Attorney General's guidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board of Elections.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Mike Cherry (R)*,  Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D)*,  Dan Helmer (D)*,  Marcus Simon (D)*,  Bonita Anthony (D),  Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D),  Nadarius Clark (D),  Laura Jane Cohen (D),  Rae Cousins (D),  Debra Gardner (D),  J.R. Henson (D),  Phil Hernandez (D),  Patrick Hope (D),  Karen Keys-Gamarra (D),  Amy Laufer (D),  Michelle Lopes-Maldonado (D),  Alfonso Lopez (D),  Fernando Martinez (D),  Joseph McNamara (R),  Sam Rasoul (D),  David Reid (D),  Holly Seibold (D),  Irene Shin (D),  Shelly Simonds (D),  Josh Thomas (D),  Kathy Tran (D),  Vivian Watts (D),  Rodney Willett (D), 

Left in Appropriations (on 02/13/2024)

Official Document