Last year 117 members of the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate accepted $263,227.10 in gifts from 195 different givers, from ExxonMobil and the Virginia state AFl-CIO to the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and a host of so-called "payday lenders."

See the gifts your legislator accepted now in the DataSphere.

Everyone has their opinion, but from a news reporter like me, there's not a lot here that's really gross, but there's stuff that'll raise your eyebrows. And if nothing else, this list of 725 gifts provides an intriguing look into part of the way government works.

Some obvious relationships emerge. Sen. Ken Stolle, a former law enforcement officer, received more in gifts than anybody at over $11,000, nearly all of which came from the Virginia Sheriff's Association in the form of two hunting trips and a leather jacket.

You can tell the payday lending issue has been a hot one lately. Legislation to reign in the lenders that some consider predatory on low-income people is a big deal in the current general assembly session. So, not a surprise really then, that several payday lenders, like AdvanceAmerica and Check Into Cash, paid some costs of Newport News/James City County Del. Phil Hamilton to attend the Masters golf tournament.

So, go in and nose around. See who is thanking who, or trying to influence who. Oh, and bear in mind that one of the single biggest gift givers is you, the Virginia taxpayer. If lawmakers travel on state business outside of their regular duties and the state pays the way, that travel must be declared as gifts along with everything else.

One quick tip: if you want to look at the data by giver and not delegate, search all lawmakers and then sort the list by giver by clicking on the words "Gift Giver" at the top of the column. Then you can see gifts by each giver grouped together.

And, if you don't know who a delegate is, check out the bios for members of the house and senate.

And then tell me what you think with a comment here. Reporters too often lose their perspective, either by making a big deal of something that isn't, or by becoming so jaded that nothing seems like a big deal anymore. So after you've looked at these gifts, tell me, is this disturbing or offensive, or just the way business is done?

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• Posted by Matt Chittum in
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