
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 13, 1994                   TAG: 9402130046
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ROB EURE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

CAMPAIGN DONATION CAP OK'D BUT LIMITS RARELY EXCEEDED

Individual, corporate and political action committee gifts to candidates would be capped for the first time in Virginia under a measure approved Saturday by the House of Delegates.

Legislators would be prohibited from collecting more than $2,000 from individuals and $5,000 from PACs or corporations - limits long sought by public interest groups.

The bill, sponsored by Del. Glenn Croshaw, D-Virginia Beach, passed unanimously and without any debate from politicians usually keen on protecting their lines of financing for re-election campaigns.

A similar measure stands ready for passage next week in the Senate.

What's the catch?

"Loopholes," said University of Virginia political scientist Larry Sabato, who headed a study commission on campaign finance reform in 1992.

Not included in the bills are provisions to limit "in-kind" contributions - items such as office space, telephones or sponsorship of fund-raising events - or gifts by political parties.

And the bill doesn't cover independent political groups, such as labor unions or more recently formed conservative groups, which often print their own literature, staff polling places and canvass for favored candidates.

Moreover, Sabato said, studies show that the contribution limits set in the measures are rarely exceeded in legislative races. "It's going to have virtually no impact on their races," he said.

Contribution limits have been popular on the campaign trail in recent years among politicians eager to soothe public concern over the increased cost of campaigns and the influence of special interests. The House passed a weaker version of the bill last year, but it was killed in the Senate.

"Last year, campaign [contribution] limits had two problems," said Scott Leake, executive director of the Joint Republican Caucus. "Support from Republicans and Governor Wilder."

Former Gov. Douglas Wilder - often at odds with a legislature controlled by fellow Democrats - called for campaign-financing reforms to no avail.

The contribution limit bill passed Saturday also places limits on statewide campaigns. Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general could receive no more than $10,000 from individuals and $20,000 from PACs. The caps will have more effect on statewide candidates, whose contributors often exceed the proposed limits.

"I don't profess that this bill is the end all of reform," Croshaw said. "But the trend in elections has been to contribute more and more. I think this offers the public some feeling that these elections are not going to be the product of one special interest."

The Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Gartlan Jr., D-Fairfax County, includes higher contribution limits for Senate campaigns. The $2,000 individual limit for House candidates becomes $4,000 for senators, under the argument that Senate districts include 2 1/2 times as many people as House districts.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1994

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