Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A campaign finance bill that could be detrimental to underfunded conservative candidates has passed the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee and now awaits an appearance before the full House State & Local Government Committee.
SB0229/HB0653, sponsored by Senator Richard Briggs (R- Knoxville-District 7) and Rep. Tim Hicks (R-Gray-District 6), is a six-page bill that makes numerous changes to campaign finance law, supposedly originally brought to Briggs by the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.
Per previous Tennessee Conservative News reporting, the bill’s required changes may prove harmful to conservatives, especially given the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance (TREF) board’s penchant for targeting conservative candidates and organizations.
The bill ultimately funnels more money toward the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance and makes other subtle yet extensive shifts to the already complicated laws surrounding campaign and political finance. Some proposed changes in the bill include:
– Requiring certain executive branch officials to receive ethics training from the bureau.
– Allowing the Registry of Election Finance to skip audits or investigations of complaints against financial reports and instead go straight to show cause hearings.
– Requiring a local candidate whose jurisdiction covers more than one county to register a political treasurer in each county the election occurs.
– Deleting an entire section of existing law and replacing it with exemptions for campaign contribution limits for certain political campaign committees, such as those controlled by a political party.
At the meeting of the House Elections & Campaign Finance Subcommittee on Tuesday, Feb. 25, HB0653 was explained by its sponsor, who emphasized several points of the bill including the need for the additional funds to be directed toward the bureau to offset their costs and provide it with means to “modernize and update old systems” which utilize technology and systems which are over 15 years old.
Rep. Hicks stated the bill would be, “Putting procedures into code that have been protocol for some time.”
Three members of the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, including its Executive Director Bill Young, answered committee member questions, which were mainly technical clarifications about existing campaign finance laws, and spoke in favor of the bill.
Young also gave credit to the Lobbyists Association for originally suggesting many components of bill, particularly the overhaul to the IT and technology systems, which Young anticipates will cost roughly $3 million upfront plus an additional $500,000-$800,000 annually for maintenance.
The final vote was 7-0, the committee being unanimously in favor of recommendation to the House State and & Local Government Committee, which will consider the legislation at a later date.
SB0229 passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee by an 8-1 vote last week and has been referred to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee, though it does not yet have a set calendar date.
