Produced
by VCU's
Legislative
Reporting
students

MARCH 12, 2001: SPECIAL EDITION ON LEGISLATIVE GIFTS

During the legislative session, this site was updated each weekday by a student in Mass Comm 375 at Virginia Commonwealth University. See our back issues for daily legislative coverage and other special editions. We also covered the General Assembly's veto session.


:: how much they got ::

List of legislators and
the total gifts they reported

Search our database for details

The 25 biggest gifts from lobbyists


:: average haul in gifts ::
Senators: $1,299
House members: $658
Republicans: $1,120
Democrats: $533
Committee chairs: $1,026
Committee members: $738
Male legislators: $912
Female legislators: $441

:: top recipients ::
Lawmakers who reported
getting the most gifts:
Sen. William Wampler: $7,962
Sen. Thomas Norment: $7,682
Sen. Kenneth Stolle: $7,629

:: top givers ::
Groups that gave legislators
the most gifts:
Philip Morris: $25,760
VA Dominion Power: $10,175
Virginia Sheriffs' Assn.: $9,631

:: other top officials ::
Gifts received by:
Gov. Jim Gilmore
Lt. Gov. John Hager
Attorney General Mark Early

:: how we did it ::
> Where we got the data,
how we did the analysis

:: run the credits ::
> A list of the students
who worked on the project

:: feedback ::
> Suggestions, ideas,
tips for coverage? Tell us!

:: mega-donors ::

> During the 1999 elections, members of the General Assembly received more than half their money from 150 groups and individuals.

Here are the top donors, and how they fared during the 2000 legislative session.

This package was a group project by the Legislative Reporting class during the Spring 2000 semester.

 

Never look a gift caribou in the mouth

Hunting trips, football tickets, meals and other gifts
added up to almost $118,000 for lawmakers last year

Members of the Virginia General Assembly last year received more than $117,700 in gifts from businesses, special interest groups and lobbyists, according to computer-assisted research by VCU's Legislative Reporting class.

The gifts included hunting trips to Georgia, Texas and even Canada: Two senators hunted caribou in the Arctic Circle, courtesy of the Virginia Sheriffs' Association. The most generous benefactor was Philip Morris, which treated lawmakers to almost $26,000 in meals, entertainment, golf equipment and other freebies.

In January, legislators filed reports listing the gifts they received in 2000. After creating a database from the reports, VCU students identified the biggest givers and recipients of gifts - and for the first time put the database online so the public can search it.

The class also posted data on other top officials, including the $55,500 in gifts received by Gov. Jim Gilmore.


Why do lobbyists pick up the tab? Access, some say

Dinner from Merck Pharmaceuticals: $123. Washington Redskins tickets from Verizon: $396. Golf balls and tees from Philip Morris: $587. A hunting trip from Dominion Virginia Power: $1,723. The political influence engendered by such gifts to state legislators: priceless - perhaps. [Story by Kevin Crossett]


Virginia has no limits on giving gifts to legislators

Virginia is one of 19 states that have no limits on gift-giving to state legislators. Virginia lawmakers can accept any size gift - at any time, even during a legislative session. [Story by Laura Davis]


Virginia: 'the Cayman Islands' of campaign finance

That's how Steve Calos, exective director of Common Cause of Virginia, describes the state's law on political contributions and gifts. [Story by Robb Crocker]


Sen. Wampler got more gifts than any other legislator

Sen. William C. Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, last year took two hunting trips at a cost of $4,077. The senator, however, didn’t pay for them. Lobbyists did. [Story by Ty Bowers]


'There's no correlation' between gifts and votes

Sen. Thomas K. Norment Jr., who sponsored legislation about electricity deregulation, said he sees nothing wrong with accepting a hunting trip from Dominion Virginia Power. [Story by Olympia Meola]


Some legislators just say 'no thanks' to gifts

Not every legislator celebrated the holidays with a gift box from Philip Morris, enjoyed a night on the town from Sprint or went hunting courtesy of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association. Ten lawmakers did not accept any gifts from lobbyists last year. [Story by Kelly Gerow]


Eastern Virginia's legislators got the most gifts

Legislators from Eastern Virginia, including Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News, got the most gifts last year: an average of more than $1,000 per lawmaker. [Story by Robb Crocker]


Philip Morris is tops in giving gifts to lawmakers

The tallies are in – and Philip Morris is the winner in the category of giving gifts to Virginia legislators. The company gave state lawmakers 188 gifts worth almost $26,000 last year. [Story by Tara Stubblefield]


Gifts are 'an investment in good government'

Dominion Virginia Power was the second-biggest provider of gifts to legislators last year, sending five lawmakers quail-hunting in Georgia. "We consider these gifts an investment in good government," a company official said. [Story by Nathan Hanger]


Lawmakers get free tickets to amusement park

Paramount’s Kings Dominion last year contributed gave legislators more than $3,000 in free tickets. Lawmakers then killed a bill opposed by the tourism industry. Was there a connection? [Story by Jennifer Lawhorne]


Offbeat gifts include WWF tickets and eyeglasses

Most legislative gifts involve meals or trips, but some go well beyond the regular dinner-and-a-play combination. Other gifts include autographed footballs, commemorative clocks and trail rides. [Story by Nicole Johnson]


The governor's haul: $55,500 in gifts last year

Patricia Cornwell gave him gifts valued at $5,627. Willow Oaks Country Club chipped in gifts worth $21,240. Together, they accounted for about half of the $55,500 in gifts that Gov. Jim Gilmore received last year. [Story by Jessica Brown]


Former first couple in trouble over taking gifts

In the political arena, lawmakers must be careful about the presents they take. Or they could find themselves surrounded by controversy just like former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. [Story by Jay-Anne Casuga]

 

:: links ::

> Home page for MASC 375, the Legislative Reporting course
at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Mass Communications

> Hotlist of newspapers covering the General Assembly

> Other online resources for legislative reporters