They had one job.

What's happening: A state committee tasked with undertaking a comprehensive look at Virginia's notoriously lax campaign finance laws never convened for a single meeting last year, the Virginia Mercury's Graham Moomaw reports.

• It's the second year in a row the committee failed to produce a report looking at options for reform — its sole reason for existing.

Why it matters: Virginia's campaign finance laws are unusually permissive, allowing unlimited contributions to politicians, who can spend the money they get on almost anything — be it for campaign or personal use.

• The nonprofit Coalition for Integrity ranks Virginia's campaign finance laws among the weakest in the nation.

What they're saying: "I had no idea I was on it," state Sen. Lionell Spruill, a Democrat from Chesapeake who co-chairs the committee, told the Mercury.

• He says unbeknownst to him, the job came with his chairmanship of the Senate's committee on elections.
• People with ideas for reform are still welcome to "bring them to the table," Del. Margaret Ransone, a Republican from Westmoreland who co-chairs the committee with Spruill, told the Mercury.

Catch up fast: Lawmakers created the committee in an attempt to find consensus on what has been a sticky issue.

• The General Assembly resolution noted "spiraling campaign costs," with candidates spending more than $1 million in 30 state legislative races in 2019.

The other side: Opponents of reforming Virginia's system argue that an existing requirement that politicians disclose any donations over $100 is enough to guard against ethical lapses.

What's next: When the committee missed its deadline last year, the legislature gave it another year.

• It will be up to lawmakers to decide whether to try again or scrap the initiative when they convene next week.

Rep. Bob Good, an ultra conservative congressman from the Lynchburg area, has been one of about two dozen consistent GOP votes against Rep. Kevin McCarthy's bid to become House speaker.

What's happening: Good, who has been calling McCarthy a swamp creature, told Politico late last month that the bad blood dates to McCarthy's efforts to keep Good out of office two years ago.

• That included donations to then-GOP Rep. Denver Riggleman, whom Good was challenging in part because Riggleman officiated a same-sex wedding.
• According to Good, McCarthy never made a move to clear the air until last month when he realized he needed Good's vote.

What they're saying: Good says McCarthy just isn't conservative enough and will never win his vote.

• “He doesn't have anything that I want,” he told Politico.

Worth noting: He's the only Republican from Virginia opposing McCarthy.

What's next: The House GOP is expected to keep trying to elect a speaker today.

👨‍🎨 Maryland-based sculptor Steven Weitzman was selected by a state panel to create a statue of 16-year-old civil rights hero Barbara Johns. (Times-Dispatch)

• The statue will replace one of Robert E. Lee, which represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall collection for 111 years before it was removed in 2020.

🎰 The state's problem gambling hotline has seen a 143% increase in phone calls over the past three years amid a relaxation of gambling laws. (Virginia Mercury)

🏝 The city of Richmond was awarded a $7.5 million grant toward its joint project with the Capital Region Land Conservancy to buy Mayo Island. (Capital Region Land Conservancy)

🚨 The East End DMV will be closed beginning next week through Jan. 29 for renovations. (WRIC)

The Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia is celebrating its 40th anniversary with an exhibition exploring themes that shaped the lives of Black Virginians through history.

"Forging Freedom, Justice and Equality" runs until April 29 and uses artifacts from the museum's collection to tell these stories through six themes.

• The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm.
• Adult admission is $10.

Bonus pick: "Up in Smoke: The History of Tobacco in Virginia" at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, with museum staff sharing an up-close look at artifacts covering 400 years of tobacco in the state.

• The event takes place Saturday from 10:30am-12:30pm.
• Tickets are $20.

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As House Republicans in Washington, D.C., fight over who should lead the chamber, it's worth taking a moment to remember the time the Virginia Capitol fell into chaos amid a leadership fight.

Flashback: There was jeering, shouting and pounding on desks in the House of Delegates.

• It was 1998, and Democrats still dominated in Virginia. But Republicans had made big gains, putting them on the cusp of controlling half the House seats — if only Democrats would agree to seat three new GOP delegates before the vote for speaker.
• That's all per a Washington Post story from the time, shared this week by present-day political reporter Michael Pope at WCVE.

The loud play for power, which you can relive right now on YouTube courtesy of the Library of Virginia, didn't work, and after a five-hour standoff, Democrats re-elected their speaker.

Richmond police pulled a car out of Shields Lake Wednesday afternoon.

What's happening: The driver was trying to change a tire in Byrd Park when it rolled down an embankment into the water, per RPD spokeswoman Tracy Walker.

🎣 The intrigue: A fisherman on the scene was casting his line toward the vehicle, telling Axios it seemed to be attracting fish and was the only place he was getting bites.