Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Tennessee General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the chaptered version. The official bill page.
.. .
··~~-•••·',;.,•· xv
ii! ~~V.f\)l\/4A )J:..E.J;)::
F
,
~ ~
i.... _ ••••••
Sfa:fe ef J ennessee
PUBLIC CHAPTER NO. 415
SENATE BILL NO. 229
By Briggs, Bailey
Substituted for: House Bill No. 653
By Tim Hicks, Hemmer, Alexander
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2; Title 3 and Title 67, relative to the bureau of
ethics and campaign finance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-105(e)(1), is amended by adding the
following after the first sentence:
If a local election covers more than one (1) county, then the local candidate shall file the
certification of a political treasurer with the local election commission in each county in which
the local election occurs.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2, Chapter 10, Part 1, is amended by adding
the following new section:
All political campaign committees registered with the registry of election finance shall
pay an annual registration fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) to the registry of election
finance upon registration and by no later than January 31 of each successive year to partially
offset the costs incurred by the registry of election finance in regulating political campaign
committees. Candidates for elective office are not required to pay a registration fee in order
to encourage persons to run for elective office.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-102(4)(E), is amended by deleting
the language "one hundred dollars ($100)" and substituting instead "two hundred fifty dollars
($250)", and by adding the words "or an entity's commercial" before the word "premises".
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-104, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead:
All statements required by this part must be signed by the person filing such
statement under penalty of perjury. All statements required by this part to be filed
electronically must be filed under penalty of perjury, and each filer is required to
acknowledge such as part of the electronic filing process.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-108(b)(1), is amended by deleting
the last two sentences of the subdivision and substituting instead:
Alternatively, if the registry determines that the complaint is factually and legally sufficient
and that the circumstances are appropriate, then the registry may order the registry's staff to
conduct an investigation or investigative audit of the alleged violator's campaign finance
disclosure reports. In such instances, the alleged violator is obligated to produce all
documentation required to be maintained by§ 2-10-105(f) and to comply in good faith and
with total candor with all requests for documentation or clarification properly requested by the
registry's investigator, auditor, or counsel. Alternatively, the registry, in lieu of conducting any
investigation or audit, may proceed directly to a show cause hearing on the sworn complaint.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-108(b)(2), is amended by deleting in
the first sentence the language "either the attorney general's investigation or the audit" and
S8229
substituting instead the language "a show cause hearing is ordered by the registry, or any
investigation or audit".
SECTION 7. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-114(b), is amended by adding the
following as a new subdivision (3) and redesignating the existing subdivision (3) accordingly:
(3) Expenditures of campaign funds to defend civil litigation involving the candidate's
nomination for election or election to office is deemed not for personal use.
SECTION 8. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-302(e)(1), is amended by deleting
the second sentence and substituting instead:
A successful candidate for state or local public office who reports no outstanding loans or
obligatior-s may continue to accept contributions for the purpose of defraying officeholder
expenses until the close of the reporting period following the date of the election of the
officeholder's successor, not including the reporting period in which the election occurs.
SECTION 9. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-302(e)(1), is amended by
designating the existing language as subdivision (e)(1 )(A) and adding the following as new
subdivisions:
(8) A candidate for state or local public office, or an elected state or local official, may
continue to accept contributions in excess of outstanding debts and obligations relating to an
election between the date of the election and the close of the reporting period immediately
following the reporting period in which the election occurred.
(C) Notwithstanding subdivision (e)(1 )(8), a candidate shall not accept an in-kind
contribution relating to an election after the date of the election, unless such in-kind
contribution is of a nature that allows such contribution to be converted to a monetary value
for the purpose of defraying outstanding debts and obligations incurred during that election.
SECTION 10. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-306, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead:
(a) It is the intent of the general assembly to recognize that political campaign
committees controlled by a political party serve different and distinct purposes than other
registered political campaign committees.
(b)(1) Political campaign committees controlled by a political party or a caucus
of such political party established by members of either house of the general
assembly are not subject to the contribution limits established by§ 2-10-302(b).
(2) A political campaign committee that is associated with a political party or a
caucus of such political party established by members of either house of the general
assembly, but not directly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by such
political party or caucus, is subject to the limits established by § 2-10-302(b).
SECTION 11. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-6-113, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
(d) The annual ethics training referenced in subsection (a) must also be provided by
the Tennessee ethics commission to all department commissioners in the executive branch
and all of the governor's cabinet level staff. Staff of the ethics commission shall coordinate
with the governor's ethics counsel to identify all executive staff required to receive this annual
training and to establish the location for this training. Such training must be offered on a date
when the general assembly is in session, and the governor's ethics counsel shall notify
impacted executive branch members of the time and location of this annual training. The
manual referenced in subsection (c) must be made available to all executive branch officials
taking this annual training.
SECTION 12. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-6-202, is amended by deleting the
section and substituting instead:
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b)-(d), all commission proceedings regarding a
sworn complaint, including records relating to a preliminary investigation, are public records
and are open to public inspection under title 10, chapter 7.
(b) All personal or professional financial records of the alleged violator are
confidential and not subject to public inspection.
2
SB229
(c) All information related to a sworn complaint against a candidate in an election, as
defined in § 2-10-102, is confidential and not subject to public inspection during the period
from thirty (30) days immediately preceding the commencement of voting for that election
through election day, unless the candidate requests in writing the disclosure of the
information.
(d) If a member of the commission or member of the commission staff knowingly
discloses information in violation of this section, then such disclosure is grounds for
immediate termination of a staff member's employment or immediate removal of a
commission member from office.
SECTION 13. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-6-203{b){1), is amended by deleting
the first two sentences and substituting instead:
The commission may refer a factually and legally sufficient complaint to the office of
the attorney general and reporter, who may conduct a preliminary investigation, or the
commission may conduct its own investigation, or the commission may conduct a probable
cause determination without first conducting an investigation. If an investigation is requested,
the commission shall make a probable cause determination after the office of the attorney
general and reporter completes its investigation and reports its findings to the commission.
SECTION 14. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-114(b)(2), is amended by adding
the following new subdivision:
( ) Public relations, consulting, and legal expenses of a candidate or officeholder
co~cerning a criminal matter involving the candidate or officeholder.
SECTION 15. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-105(h)(1 )(A), is amended by
deleting subdivisions (i)-(iii) and substituting instead: •
(i) For a committee participating in the election of a candidate for any statewide office,
five thousand dollars ($5,000); and
(ii) For a committee participating in the election of any other state or local public
office, three thousand dollars ($3,000); and
SECTION •16. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 2-10-105(h)(1 )(8), is amended by
deleting subdivisions (i)-(iii) and substituting instead:
(i) For a committee participating in the election of a candidate for any statewide office,
five thousand dollars ($5,000); and
(ii) For a committee participating in the election of any other state or local public
office, three thousand dollars ($3,000).
SECTION 17. Sections 2 and 11 of this act take effect on January 1, 2026, the public welfare
requiring it. All other provisions of this act take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare
requiring it.
3
SENATE BILL NO. 229
PASSED: Apri I 22, 2025
~ l'--'-1 'N-,.. ~'---'""'-'
RANDY 'cNALLY
SPEAKER OF THE SENATE
~
CAMERON SEXTON, SPEAKER
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
qt!. APPROVED this day o f ~ 2025
~lu.
BILL LEE, GOVERNOREvery fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.