Republican anger, progressive concern combine in push to ban political spending by utilities – Fauquier Times

Legislative proposals to curb Virginia utilities political contributions may be gaining new traction in Richmond as old resentments over a 2015 utility rate freeze law combine with progressive Democrats skepticism of utility influence and Republican anger over Dominion Energys contributions to a shadowy PAC attacking Gov. Glenn Youngkin during the 2021 elections.

Del. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, said proposals by him, Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, and Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Stafford, have a very good chance at clearing the Republican-controlled House of Delegates. Petersen said he expects the support of a portion of Democrats in the Senate they narrowly control.

I cant get them all. I certainly cant get the ones that are more senior in leadership, said Petersen during a news conference Monday with Ware. But I can get a portion of my caucus.

Garren Shipley, a spokesperson for House Republicans, said party members havent discussed [the bills] at length yet as a caucus.

State Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City.

Petersen also called on Youngkin to throw his support behind the proposals. Both he and Ware said they had spoken to the new governor, with Ware indicating Youngkin sees some affinity with their goals, but the administration has taken no public stance on the legislation.

The commonwealth needs the new governor to take a firm stand on this issue, and my hope is that will change the dynamic, said Petersen.

Political contributions by utilities have been a hot-button issue in Virginia in recent years largely due to Dominion, the states largest electric utility and for many years the biggest corporate donor in state politics. Many of the loudest voices for reform have come from an influx of progressive Democrats starting in 2017, who in a lot of ways moved the needle on this issue, said Petersen, an early proponent of restrictions on public service corporation political giving.

In last years race for governor, the company sparked particular outrage among Republicans by bankrolling amysterious PAC effortmeant to depress turnout for Youngkin in rural areas. At the time, Dominion claimed it was unaware of the PACs activities, but post-election financial disclosures show the utility and its executives provided almost half the money the PAC received,according to Cardinal News.

Factions of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed discomfort with what they describe as Dominions outsize influence over the General Assembly, which has passed a series of laws favorable to the utility over the past decade, including a controversial rate freeze in 2015 that remained in place until 2018 and broughtin hundreds of millions of dollarsin excess profits, according to state regulators.

While utilities such as Dominion are great companies, Ware said Monday, they need to be responsible to the State Corporation Commission and not use massive lobbying monies and a large lobbying corps to get around and get what they want from the assembly.

Similarly, Petersen described a scenario where you have a state monopoly, a state utility thats not just donating money to campaigns, but also doing so in a way that frankly can be devious, that can be perhaps intended to mislead voters as opposed to inform voters, where again you have a monopolistic company that has a captive audience that is spreading money around the General Assembly and using that to structure the state law.

Asked about its stance on Petersen and Wares legislation and Petersens comments, Dominion spokesperson Rayhan Daudani said in an email that campaign finance laws should apply to all equally.

The anti-Youngkin ads Dominion helped finance have also inspired a push to tighten state laws on when PACs have to report their spending activity.Legislationsponsored by Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, would require PACs to report large pre-election expenditures of $1,000 or more, bringing more immediate transparency while votes are being cast rather than after an election is over.

In a floor speech Monday, Suetterlein said the Dominion-backed ads, which portrayed Youngkin as soft on guns, were most unusual.

There is no excuse for what happened, he said. We need more disclosure in this commonwealth.

Last year, Youngkins campaign responded to the ad controversy by suggesting entrenched interests were rallying behind his opponent, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, because they were afraid of his outsider status. However, after Youngkins victory, Dominion donated $50,000 to his inaugural committee,according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Asked Monday where the governor stands on reining in utility donations, Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said: The governor will review all legislation that comes to his desk.

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Republican anger, progressive concern combine in push to ban political spending by utilities - Fauquier Times