Bill to prevent Dominion campaign contributions killed in committee

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — On a bipartisan basis, Virginia lawmakers have quickly dispensed with this year’s key legislative efforts to rein in campaign cash from Richmond-based lobbying powerhouse Dominion Energy.

A House subcommittee on Wednesday struck down two campaign finance reform measures aimed at the energy company’s Virginia electric utility and certain other regulated entities. A Senate committee defeated two other related bills a day earlier.

Scrutiny of Dominion’s influence through campaign contributions has become a perennial issue in recent years due to growing concern over the company’s ability to push through legislation favorable to its own interests.

Republican Del. Lee Ware, who sponsored a bill aimed specifically at Dominion and Appalachian Power, told his colleagues Wednesday that the General Assembly has allowed the two companies to circumvent regulatory oversight “in exchange for robust contributions to legislators’ campaign committees.”

Dominion says its donations are transparent, and the company wants campaign finance laws to apply equally to all.

“This is banning political speech by two corporations. And when you do that, you elevate the speech of others,” lobbyist Chris Nolen of the law firm McGuire-Woods said Wednesday, as he represented the company and argued against the bill.

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