Bill Prohibiting State Agencies From Lobbying For Or Against State Legislation Slated For Subcommittee (Correction)

***Correction – the wrong subcommittee was referenced in the previous version of this article, please see below for the correct subcommittee to contact about this bill***

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The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] – 

A bill to prohibit taxpayer-funded state agencies from lobbying for or against state legislation is set to be heard in the House Public Service Subcommittee on March 2nd, 2022.

House Bill 1978 (HB1978), sponsored by Robin Smith (R-Hixson-District 26), and Senate Bill 2275 (SB2275), sponsored by Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17), in summary, seeks to prohibit state agencies from lobbying for or against state legislation.  In addition, the companion bills would prohibit the use of appropriated funds or funds under the agency’s control for such purposes.

The legislation states that an executive agency, its employees, or authorized representatives or liaisons shall not use appropriated funds or funds under its control or engage in any activity in an attempt to influence legislative or administrative action. 

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Further, the ethics commission shall administratively assess civil penalties against an executive agency or an employee of an agency, or both, for a violation.

The legislation states that penalties for violations may result in:

(A) The dismissal of the employee; and 

(B) The agency being compelled to appear, upon proper motion, before the government operations committee of the house of representatives and the government operations committee of the senate for review in accordance with title 4, chapter 29, part 1. Upon review, either committee may make a recommendation to the general assembly to suspend the agency’s rulemaking authority for a reasonable time period or with respect to a subject matter, by legislative enactment.

The legislation states that the ethics commission may administratively assess a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) per day up to a maximum of three thousand dollars ($3,000) for a knowing violation.

If passed, the Act would take effect immediately upon becoming law.

The House version of the bill (HB1978) will be heard in the House Public Service Subcommittee on March 2nd, 2022.  

Note from the Tennessee Conservative: The Subcommittee has the power to kill this bill before it reaches the House or Senate floor for a vote.  If you support this bill, contact the subcommittee’s Republican members (who hold the supermajority vote) prior to their meeting on March 2nd.

House Public Service Subcommittee – Republican members:

Esther Helton (chair) – rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934

Rebecca K. Alexander – rep.rebecca.alexander@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2251

Curtis Johnson – rep.curtis.johnson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4341

Kelly Keisling – rep.kelly.keisling@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6852

Pat Marsh – rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6824

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com