The Associated Press reported this week that a Virginia Senate committee advanced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit lawmakers from using campaign funds for personal expenses such as a mortgage or country club membership.

Lawmakers long had resisted adopting the change.

Surprise!

There’s more.

Virginia state lawmakers are currently outliers in the nation for their ability to spend money donated to their campaigns on virtually anything, the AP noted. Despite a bipartisan insistence that lawmakers want to find compromise on reform, similar bills adding limits to how cam- paign funds can be spent have been repeatedly defeated in recent years.

We may want to stop right there.

While it may be tempting for anyone to live and socialize off of someone else’s dime, it is flat out wrong and unethical.

Political life already is rife with opportunities for far too many backroom deals designed to line the pockets of elected officials. Does the term kickbacks ring a bell? Corruption? Bribery? Fraud?

Fortunately, Virginia legislators showed that they can be above such shenanigans, as the AP further reports that applause broke out in the room after the bill from Sen. Jennifer Boysko and three Democratic colleagues passed unanimously.

“Nearly all other states and the federal government prohibit the use of campaign funds by a candidate or their families,” Sen. Boysko said as she presented her bill. “But in Virginia, we still could take our family on a Caribbean cruise if we choose, and I don’t think that’s right.”

We don’t either. Bravo Sen. Boysko. (Although a Caribbean cruise would be nice right about now given the Mercury Retrograde beating we all seem to have taken.)

The bill would prohibit a candidate from using campaign funds for an expense that would exist irrespective of the person seeking, holding or maintaining office. It allows contributions to be used for “ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office.”

That last quote struck a chord, reminding us of the John Legend song “Ordinary People.”

We’re just ordinary people

We don’t know which way to go

‘Cause we’re ordinary people

Maybe we should take it slow

Word to the wise: In this case “take it slow” does not mean withdrawing campaign funds for leisurely and/or personal use. Rather, use the funds as they are intended to be used: judiciously and wisely.

In other words, pay your own mortgage and country club membership fees.

Below is a summary of the bill, SB1471, as introduced and as of Wednesday was re-referred to the Senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee.

Campaign finance; prohibited personal use of campaign funds; complaints, hearings, civil penalty, and advisory opinions. Prohibits any person from converting contributions to a candidate or his campaign committee for personal use. Current law only prohibits such conversion of contributions with regard to disbursement of surplus funds at the dissolution of a campaign or political committee. The bill provides that a contribution is considered to have been converted to personal use if the contribution, in whole or in part, is used to fulfill any commitment, obli- gation, or expense that would exist irrespective of the person’s seeking, holding, or maintaining public office but allows a contribution to be used for the ordinary and accepted expenses related to campaigning for or holding elective office, including the use of campaign funds to pay for the candidate’s child care expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activity. The bill provides that any person subject to the personal use ban may request an advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections on such matters. The bill directs the State Board of Elections to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill and to provide an updated summary of Virginia campaign finance law that reflects the State Board of Elections’ and Attorney General’s guidance on the provisions of such law that prohibit the personal use of campaign funds and any new regulations promulgated by the State Board of Elections.