Campaign finance requirements in Tennessee

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Tennessee campaign finance requirements govern the following:

  • how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations,
  • how much and how often they must report those contributions, and
  • how much individuals, organizations and political parties may contribute to campaigns.

In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.


Background

Seal of the United States Federal Election Commission

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions, and overseeing public funding of presidential elections.[1] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within 15 days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[2]

The rules governing federal election campaigns and contributions have evolved over the past generation as result of a number of Supreme Court decisions. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election.[3] In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged.[4][5] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.[6]

While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections.

Contribution limits

The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Tennessee as of May 2015. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.

\|-class="sortbottom"
Tennessee contribution limits as of January 2018
Office Limit
Statewide candidate (incl. governor) $4,000
State legislative candidate $1,500
Source: Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance, "2017/18 Contribution Limit Changes," accessed January 22, 2018

Candidate requirements

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DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Chapter 2-10 of the Tennessee Code

Each candidate must certify the name and address of his or her treasurer to the Registry of Election Finance before the candidate may receive a contribution or make an expenditure in an election. A candidate may serve as that candidate's own political treasurer.[7][8]

Each candidate must submit financial statements of all contributions and expenditures with the Registry of Election Finance throughout the election cycle. These statements must include the dates for each contribution and expenditure. Separate campaign financial reporting is required for both primary elections and general elections.[7]

A candidate is exempt from filing a detailed disclosure statement if neither contributions received nor expenditures made during a reporting period for which a statement is submitted exceed $1,000. The candidate must still report the balance of contributions on hand, outstanding loans and outstanding obligations.[9]

Figure 1: This is the Campaign Financial Disclosure Statement Form for state and local candidates.

In addition to the filing of regular campaign finance statements, beginning with the 10th day prior to a primary, general, runoff or special election up to the date of the election, each candidate must file a report with the Registry of Election Finance finance of the following: the full name and address of each person from whom the candidate or committee has received and accepted a contribution, loan or transfer of funds during such period and the date of the receipt of each contribution in excess of $5,000 for a state legislative or statewide office.[7]

Below are the kinds of contributions and expenditures that must be reported on each campaign finance statement:

  • Contributions: A candidate is required to list the full name, complete address, amount, date of receipt of contribution, and the election for which the contribution was made for each person or organization who contributes a total of more than $100 during a reporting period. $100 contributions or less may be totaled and reported as a single item.[9]
  • Expenditures: Expenditures totaling $100 or less are not required to be itemized. For expenditures greater than $100 during a reporting period, the full name, complete address, amount, and detailed purpose for each person or organization to whom a total of more than $100 was paid.[9]
  • Loans: Itemized information must be provided for all loans for more than $100 from one creditor during a reporting period. The full name and address of each creditor, and the date that the loan was made, must also be provided.

Campaign finance legislation

The following is a list of recent campaign finance bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Tennessee state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.


Election and campaign ballot measures

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot and List of Tennessee ballot measures


Election-related agencies

See also: Campaign finance agencies in Tennessee and State election agencies

Candidates running for office will require some form of interaction with the following agencies:

  • Tennessee Secretary of State, Division of Elections
Why: This agency provides and processes candidacy forms and qualifying petitions.
312 Rosa L. Parks Avenue
9th Floor, William Snodgrass Tower
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0309
Phone: 615.741.7956
Toll-free: 1.877.850.4959
Website: http://www.state.tn.us/sos/election/index.htm
Email: [email protected]
  • Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance
Why: This agency processes campaign finance reports.
404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 104
Nashville, Tennessee 37243
Phone: (615)741-7959
Website: http://www.state.tn.us/tref/

Counties

See also: Counties in Tennessee

A candidate must obtain petitions from a county election commission office or the office of the coordinator of elections. The candidate must also file original nominating petitions in the office of the election commission of his or her home county. Individual county contact information can be found below. To provide a link or information for the table below, please email us.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tennessee campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Campaign finance requirements in Tennessee - Google News

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
  2. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
  3. ↑ New York Times, "Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit," January 21, 2010
  4. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Speechnow.org v. FEC," April 7, 2014
  5. ↑ OpenSecrets, "Two Federal Court Rulings Could Change Campaign Finance Landscape," March 26, 2010
  6. ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ongoing Litigation," accessed March 18, 2015
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-10-105," accessed February 26, 2014
  8. ↑ Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, "Campaign Finance Guide for Candidates," accessed November 26, 2013
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Tennessee Code, "Chapter 2-10-107," accessed February 26, 2014
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