The Republican-dominant West Virginia legislature has cleared legislation designed to bring more money into the state's politics. GOP Gov. Jim Justice has not yet committed to signing the bill, which would nearly triple the amount individuals may contribute to candidates (to $2,800), boost in the donation limit to the state parties 10 times over (to $10,000) and boost fivefold (to $5,000) the cap on giving to political action committees.
Those limits would match the national caps established by the Federal Election Commission.
"There's no sound reason for increasing the amount of influence a person or group can have over a politician by enabling them to spend even more," the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the state's primary newspaper, editorialized. "The absolute indifference to furthering political corruption and outside influence in the form of SB 622 is maddening. It also shows a startling lack of shame on the part of legislators who support the bill."
Rep. Lauren Underwood, a lead sponsor of the Momnibus package, said the title change reflects how people commonly refer to the legislation and emphasized that the bill continues to help Black women. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
At an April congressional hearing, Rep. Summer Lee questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about reports that organizations applying for federal dollars had been told to remove words including ‘Black’ from funding applications. (ALLISON BAILEY/NURPHOTO/AP)
