No vacation?

A company that wants to mine a uranium deposit in Southside Virginia paid for a dozen state legislators to travel to France this week. The legislators will have a say in whether the state ends a ban on uranium mining in 2012.

Virginia Uranium Inc. financed the trip to a closed mine in western France where uranium was mined for 50 years until the late 1990s, The Washington Post reported Friday. Five legislators arrived in Paris last Wednesday, and seven more left this Tuesday.

The five-day trip was expected to cost $10,000 a person, including several days in Paris, the Post said.

This is the second time the company has financed a trip to France as it attempts to persuade the General Assembly to end the 1982 ban so it can mine a 119-million-pound deposit-- which could be worth up to $10 billion-- in Pittsylvania County. A company executive has said it will seek to end the ban in the 2012 session.

Almost all 140 legislators were invited on the trip, but only a dozen accepted the company invitation.

No "reasonable influence"

Under Virginia law, legislators must disclose the gifts they receive, but they're not limited by much else. The General Assembly Conflicts of Interest Act states that a lawmaker isn't allowed to accept a gift that "reasonably tends to influence him in the performance of his official duties."

However, the lawmaker determines whether he or she is influenced, said Dr. Robert Roberts, a professor of political science at James Madison University. "You can't bribe somebody," Roberts said. "But you can accept anything as long as you can say with a straight face that it doesn't influence you."

Del. Jeion A. Ward (D-Hampton) said she accepted Virginia Uranium's offer so she could make an informed decision about uranium mining.

"My vote can't be bought," she told the Post. "I'm going and coming right back. I'm not going to the south of France. But if anyone else wants to, there's nothing wrong with that."

Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax) said he declined the trip, citing the public perception of accepting a gift right before a tough re-election bid.

"I thought it would be a useful trip knowledge-wise, but politically speaking, I think it has the appearance of impropriety," Albo said.

"When we look at the legality of what they're doing, it may be legal," Roberts said. "Whether it's ethical or not is another question."

Costly gifts and trips "create the appearance that these organizations are currying favor with legislators," Roberts said.

Virginia is one of the only states that does not prohibit lawmakers from accepting gifts or cap the value of gifts that lawmakers can receive. The federal government does enforce some statutes that apply to legislators, but court interpretations require the prosecution to prove a bribe, which is difficult. Only one delegate has been convicted on a corruption charge in the past three decades: former Del. Phillip Hamilton, who was convicted in May for trying to use state funds to solicit a job at Norfolk's Old Dominion University.

Roberts said the state media often doesn't cover the costly political gifts many legislators receive, even though the information is readily available online from nonpartisan groups such as the Virginia Public Access Project.

"The public doesn't seem to care," Roberts said. "There's a culture in Virginia that we theoretically trust our legislators."

"Not a vacation"

Patrick Wales, Virginia Uranium's project manager, defended the trip as a fact-finding mission, "not a vacation."

"If we're going to ask our legislators to make a decision, it's important to have the best information in front of them," he said.

The senators who accepted the trip to France include Sens. Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton) and L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth). In addition to Ward, nine other delegates also accepted the trip: Dels. William R. Janis (R-Goochland), John A. Cosgrove (R-Chesapeake), Mamye E. BaCote (D-Newport News), David L. Englin (D-Alexandria), Barry D. Knight (R-Virginia Beach), L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William), James P. Massie III (R-Henrico), Lionell Spruill Sr. (D-Chesapeake), and Roslyn Tyler (D-Greensville).

According to the Washington Post, Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax) said he was meeting up with legislators Thursday to see the mine, but that he decided to pay his own airfare and lodging and take a separate sightseeing trip to Paris. Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax) had initially planned to take the trip but backed out at the last minute when he read how much the trip would cost in the newspapers. Instead, he said he paid his own way to see the closed mine in Bessines, France, the Washington Post reported.

Environmental groups are working to keep the uranium mining ban in place. They contend uranium should not be mined in Virginia because of the state's relatively rainy climate. Most of the world's uranium is mined in more arid locations, and uranium mining has never been permitted in Virginia. However, the deposit in Pittsylvania may be the largest uranium deposit in the United States.

Virginia Uranium argues the ore can be safely mined and milled and says that the France site demonstrates uranium has been be safely mined in a similar climate.

Last year, the mining company took three other legislators to France for a total cost of $27,418, the Virginia Public Access Project reports. The company also spent over $52,000 last year to maintain seven lobbyists from three different firms.

But Virginia Uranium was not the top contributor to legislators last year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The American Turkish Friendship Association spent $36,650 on gifts for legislators, including an all-expenses-paid trip to Turkey.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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