Many of Virginia’s lawmakers own significant stock in some of the companies that do business with the state including Dominion Power and Altria.
In December, members of Virginia’s part-time legislature had to disclose any stock holdings worth more than $5,000. Many are in companies like Apple, IBM, and Microsoft.
But 10 lawmakers own stock in Dominion Power - three of whom have holdings worth more than a quarter of a million dollars…..Bill DeSteph and Barry Knight, Republicans from Virginia Beach. And ManoliLoupassi, a Republican from Richmond.
Delegate Delores McQuinn, a Democrat from Henrico, invests more than $250,000 in Altria, a corporation headquartered in her district -- and the parent-company of Philip Morris.
Virginia doesn’t prohibit lawmakers from investing in companies that do business with the state, but they can opt to abstain on a vote when they have a quote- “personal interest.”
That information was made accessible by the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonprofit that tracks money in state politics.