Image Credit: State Senator Frank Niceley / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A bill that greatly reduces out-of-state funding for Tennessee candidates is heading to committees in both the House and Senate next week.
Sponsored by Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains-District 8), Senate Bill 0100 (SB0100) would ensure the majority of funding comes from in-state.
Tennessee law currently places no limits on the amount of out-of-state funding state and federal-level candidates in Tennessee can receive while running their campaigns for office.
In a phone interview with The Tennessee Conservative, Niceley explained that current law permits this unlimited funding that comes from individuals, corporations, and political action committees (PACs) from sources outside of state lines.
The bill would prevent candidates or political campaign committees from accepting contributions greater than 30 percent of their total received contributions from people or groups not based in the state at the time the contribution is made.
Niceley sponsored a residency bill last year, which was signed into law, that requires congressional candidates to be Tennessee residents for three years before running in primaries for federal seats. He intends for SB0100 to apply to political candidates on both the state level and federal level and considers this new legislation to be an extension of last year’s residency bill.
Supporters of Niceley’s residency bill stated that it was needed in order to prevent transplants who don’t know the area from securing key political seats.
With Niceley’s new legislation, the intent would be that our legislators have their greatest influence coming from inside the state they represent.
The House Companion Bill (HB0388) is being sponsored by Representative Dave Wright (R-Corryton-District 19).
If you would like to express support for SB0100, contact the members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee prior to their meeting on March 14th using the contact information below.
Sen. Richard Briggs (R) (Chair) – sen.richard.briggs@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1766
Sen. Page Walley (R) (Vice-Chair) – sen.page.walley@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2368
Sen. Mark Pody (R) (2nd Vice-Chair) – sen.mark.pody@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2421
Sen. Ed Jackson (R) – sen.ed.jackson@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1810
Sen. Sara Kyle (D) – sen.sara.kyle@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4167
Sen. Adam Lowe (R) – sen.adam.lowe@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1946
Sen. John Stevens (R) – sen.john.stevens@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4576
Sen. Ken Yager (R) – sen.ken.yager@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1449
Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D) – sen.jeff.yarbro@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-3291
The House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee will be hearing HB0388 on March 15th. If this issue is important to you, email, call, or even better, involve yourself personally in the process that will have an effect on this piece of legislation.
Rep. Tim Rudd (R) – Chair – rep.tim.rudd@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-2804
Rep. Jeff Burkhart (R) – rep.jeff.burkhart@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-6804
Rep. John Crawford (R) – rep.john.crawford@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7623
Rep. Clay Doggett (R) – rep.clay.doggett@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-7476
Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes (R) – rep.esther.helton@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-1934
Rep. Larry Miller (R) – rep.larry.miller@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-4453
Rep. Jerome Moon (R) – rep.jerome.moon@capitol.tn.gov – (615) 741-5481
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
