Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
Governor Bill Lee is asking the Tennessee Ethics Commission to provide guidance on whether an out-of-state trip he took in July was a state ethics violation, stating that he will repay the funds if recommended by the Commission.
The trip in question was paid for by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), classified as a 501(C)3. Lee was asked to give the keynote address at the group’s conference in Marco Island, Florida.
According to state ethics laws, Lee would not be allowed to accept a gift of any kind from lobbyists or their employers, even if it is in the form of travel reimbursement. Registered lobbyist Matthew Lorimer is an employee of ADF and their partner 501(C)4 ADF Action.
Lee’s office says the expenses came to about $1900. He originally said he had no plans to repay the money because he believed the law allowed the travel funding because ADF has the 501(C)3 classification.
Democrats, however, responded with threats to file yet another ethics complaint, this time against Lee.
A previous complaint was filed against Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, alleging that she accepted travel funding from ExcelinEd, another group that worked to lobby legislators.
That complaint was dismissed by the Ethics Commission last week, noting that Reynolds had paid the funds back to ExcelinEd, for which she was later reimbursed by the state.
Lee’s Chief Ethics Counsel Erin Merrick says that Governor Lee is “committed to ethics and transparency,” although he did not make any public announcement of the speaking engagement either before or after.
“Should it become clear from the Commission’s guidance that the Governor did not comply with the ethics statutes despite his efforts and intention to do so, then Governor Lee will correct this mistake by paying back his expenses,” Merrick wrote in a letter to the Commission.
Merrick also argued that Lorimer’s status as a lobbyist and an employee of the companies does not make it unethical for Lee to accept the funds.
“Matt Lorimer is a registered Tennessee lobbyist on behald of ADF Action. He is also an employee of Alliance Defending Freedom. Nevertheless, Alliance Defending Freedom is not an employer of a lobbyist for the purposes of Tennessee ethics law,” Merrick said.
She went on to note that state laws define “employer of a lobbyist” as an organization who has a lobbyist on staff “to engage in lobbying on [their] behalf.”
Governor Lee has stated that he is committed to ensuring that ethics training is expanded to include his cabinet members as well as legislators.
