Senate hears annual ethics, campaign-finance training; advisory opinion finds payments an "indirect gift"

Bill Young, executive director of the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, told the Tennessee Senate on Jan. 16 that an ethics commission advisory opinion issued in December 2024 found payments made by a related organization to cover a public official's travel were an "indirect gift." The session was presented as part of the bureau's annual ethics and campaign-finance training for legislators.

The advisory opinion grew from a request involving Alliance Defending Freedom and a related affiliate, Alliance Defending Freedom Action, which paid travel and lodging for a speech by Governor Bill Lee. The ethics commission concluded the payments amounted to an indirect gift because the commission found the two organizations were "intertwined and interrelated" in operations, shared services, and personnel, and because a lobbyist for the affiliate was effectively employed by the principal organization. "The ethics opinion essentially found that this was an indirect gift," Young said, adding that the governor repaid the money after the opinion.

Young reviewed other high-priority topics for 2024 and 2025: the limited statutory ban on gifts from lobbyists and lobbyist employers; permissible use of campaign funds to purchase tangible items (cars, furniture, computers) for campaign or office-holder purposes; the statutory requirement that candidates and committees itemize expenditures; interim-reporting rules for large contributions or vendor expenditures during the 10 days before an election; central filing for political campaign committees; growing use of online contribution platforms such as WinRed, ActBlue, PayPal and Venmo; and the rise of 501(c) organizations being used for political spending.

On campaign-account property, Young said such purchases are permitted when used for campaign or office-holder purposes but must be documented and retained. "Remember, once you purchase these items for your campaign account, they become property of the campaign account, not your property," he said.

On online platforms, Young warned that the candidate remains responsible for collecting donor information required by statute even when platforms do not provide full data: "It's still your responsibility as a candidate ... to collect the information on these contributions and expenditures." He said the bureau is seeing more complaints and monitoring an increase in the use of 501(c) entities to channel large sums without full donor disclosure, and that the registry board will address several sworn complaints on that topic.

Young also reviewed administrative deadlines: statements of interest are due April 15, 2025; contribution-limit adjustments based on the consumer price index will be published after Feb. 1; the bureau recommends keeping records for at least two years though the statute requires two years from the date of the election. He urged members to call bureau staff for written guidance in close cases and to document communications. "If you're looking and saying someone's offering a gift and you've got questions about it, it looks close, please call us," Young said.

A question-and-answer period followed. Senator Actberry asked about itemizing frequent vendor charges such as rideshare expenses; Young advised documenting dates and vendor information and keeping supporting records. Senator Campbell raised a question about charging for use of a public building; Young said that issue would likely be outside the bureau's purview and advised consulting the body that manages the facility.

The presentation cited the bureau's PowerPoint and advisory opinions available on its website and encouraged new members to use bureau contacts for campaign-finance and statements-of-interest questions.