Committee advances bill letting Virginia localities set up voluntary 'clean campaign' funds

The House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced House Bill 17-61, a measure giving local governments the option to create voluntary public campaign-financing programs commonly called “clean campaign” funds. The committee voted to report the bill to the full House on a 12-9 roll call.

The bill would allow a locality, under the limits of the Dillon Rule, to adopt an ordinance establishing a public fund and program that candidates may opt into rather than relying solely on private contributions. The patron, Delegate Simon, told the committee the bill is intended to give localities “the authority and a little bit of guidance” to experiment with different public-financing approaches: “If you want to in your locality, establish something you can call it a clean campaign fund,” he said.

Why it matters: supporters said the option could reduce candidates’ reliance on large private contributions and help diversify the pool of viable candidates by giving smaller-dollar, first-time, or working candidates an alternative to traditional fundraising. Opponents and some members pressed the…