Two decades later, and still looking for an economic replacement.
This is the year for governance reform. Not only will the General Assembly tighten up state ethics laws and consider proposals to strengthen the autonomy and transparency of the Commonwealth Transportation Board, legislators are proposing an overhaul of the way the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission does business.
A 2011 study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission found that the $756 million the tobacco commission had spent had only a marginal impact on Southside and Southwest Virginia, tobacco-growing regions whose economies the spending was supposed to diversify.
Now Governor Terry McAuliffe has backed a set of proposals by Republican lawmakers, including commission chair Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, to make the organization more accountable. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, proposals include:
- Establishing an online database of all awards;
- Reviewing all loans, grants and distributions of money by a “viability manager” such as the Virginia Resources Authority.
- Adopting a strategic plan every two years to set priorities, measurable goals and quantifiable outcomes.
- Reducing the number of commission members from 31 to 25;
- Setting a requirement that 60% of commission members have an expertise in business, economic development, investment banking, finance or education.
Bacon’s bottom line: I’m not sure that anything can take the politics and favoritism out of the dispensation of tobacco commission dollars, but these proposals seem to be a modest step toward more transparency and accountability. So, that’s good.
Alas, the problems of Southside and Southwest Virginia are far bigger than these modest reforms can address. Traditional economic development strategies will not transform the region. The commission needs to underwrite some radical experiments with the venture capital-like mentality that, while most likely will fail, a handful might open up previously unimagined possibilities. The proposed reforms are likely to reinforce group-think, however, and that’s not good.
— JAB
