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Committee approves disclosure rule for groups with recent foreign-adversary support
Summary
Lawmakers adopted an amendment requiring organizations that received recent support from a foreign adversary to register with the Tennessee Ethics Commission and to pay a $150 statutory fee; the measure moves to Calendar and Rules (16–2).
The State and Local Government Committee on March 24 adopted an amendment to House Bill 25-49 that would require organizations that have received recent support from a foreign adversary or its agents to publicly register and disclose that support.
Sponsor said the amendment creates a definition for a "foreign supported political organization" and sets a registration deadline and fee. "It requires covered organizations to register with the Tennessee Ethics Commission by 07/01/2026," the sponsor explained during committee discussion. A guest from the governor’s office, David Solon, told the committee the bureau of ethics asked that the fee be placed in statute rather than left to administrative rule: "So it's a $150 fee in statute as opposed to them needing to go through the rule making process." The amendment was adopted and the bill was advanced to Calendar and Rules (vote recorded by the clerk as 16 ayes and 2 nos).
The sponsor said the measure is designed to increase transparency about political organizations that may be influenced or supported by foreign adversaries; committee members asked about differences between the subcommittee language and the new amendment and heard that the change reflected bureau-of-ethics recommendations. Representative Salinas said receiving the last-minute amendment limited his ability to review differences prior to the committee taking action.
