This was the year when state lawmakers approved some major changes including legalization of marijuana and ending the death penalty. In other areas, however, reformers were disappointed.
The General Assembly rejected several bills designed to reform utility regulation, refused to remove special legal protections for police and retained the state’s right-to-work law.
They also failed to approve campaign finance reform as Sandy Hausman reports.
During the last campaign cycle, corporations, political action committees, non-profits and individuals donated more than 124-million dollars to candidates for the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.
Critics contend that warped the way lawmakers voted in 2021, but efforts to reform campaign finance in Richmond have repeatedly failed.
In part two of her series, Sandy Hausman looks at why politicians are reluctant to limit donations and whether that might change next year.
Virginia Public Radio 