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In Senate hearing, ‘very offensive’ scorecard comment draws rebuke from lawmakers [1]
['Charlie Paullin', 'More From Author', '- February']
Date: 2024-02-06
An environmental lobbyist’s comment in support of a bill spurred rebukes from several senators who interpreted it as threatening political consequences for opposition.
Testifying on a bill that would have allowed local governments to impose stricter energy efficiency requirements than those set by the state, Bob Shippee, a lobbyist with the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, told members of the Senate Local Government Committee, “This is an important bill for us. It’ll be on our legislative scorecard.” Shippee then went on to discuss the policy implications of the measure.
Immediately after Shippee’s comments, Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke, said, “I find it problematic when any one organization says this is our scorecard bill. I don’t think that’s appropriate, whatever side you’re coming from.”
Sen. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, said she “agree[d] with the comments from Sen. Suetterlein earlier.”
It was a rare public admonishment of a lobbyist that prompted Shippee to later send an email apologizing to the lawmakers he was addressing.
Scorecards are documents that various interest groups use to rate legislators based on how they voted on certain policies. They are frequently used during the campaign cycle to demonstrate to voters why they should or should not back a particular candidate.
On Monday, the bill initially failed on a split vote, with seven Democrats in support, seven Republicans against and Sen. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, abstaining. After the panel resurrected the legislation for a second vote, the measure failed 8-7, with Williams Graves voting in support and Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Richmond, reversing his position to oppose it.
“The reconsideration of my particular vote is for the patron and it has absolutely nothing to do with this scorecard comment, which I found very offensive,” Williams Graves noted before casting her vote.
Committee Chairman Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, responded, “I think that is shared by many members of the committee.”
Asked later about the incident, VanValkenburg said his reversal was not related to the scorecard comment. Instead, he said he changed his vote because he believes the legislation would spur local governments in Northern Virginia to adopt stricter rules, increasing housing costs there and driving more people to the Richmond area, where they would cause further spikes in housing costs.
“Until localities and other groups, including folks in the environmental movement, are moving votes on housing supply, I just don’t feel comfortable creating this imbalance across regions that are ultimately going to impact the capital region the most,” VanValkenburg said.
The brief spat highlighted the many unwritten rules that govern Virginia’s General Assembly, where lobbyists often play major roles in crafting legislation during the state’s short annual sessions.
Roem said a group invoking its scorecard as a way to swing votes for or against legislation is considered a faux pas. The implication of such comments, she said, is that votes on bills will have campaign-related consequences.
“It is removing a merit-based conversation,” said Roem.
The bill, which remains alive in the House, received some pushback Monday from the Home Builders Association of Virginia, which said it would lead to cost increases for low-income homeowners and renters, while making the state’s building code process more unpredictable. But its prospects seemed favorable after a majority of public commenters spoke in its support and given the 8-7 edge Democrats hold on the committee.
Shippee, by phone interview, said he made the comment because “I thought it would help underline the importance of the bill.”
Alex Parker, a former legislative aide who is familiar with the process and is a friend of Shippee’s, said lawmakers had overreacted.
“Putting a bill on a legislative agenda or scorecard is very normal for organizations,” he said. “I think that it’s unusual for a committee to denounce a volunteer public speaker for that.”
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