TN House Bill Aimed At Censoring News Organizations, Advocacy Groups Amended To Conform To Senate Version Removing ‘Controversial’ Elements

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

According to bill sponsor Rep. Sam Whitson, a House bill that has received a great deal of pushback from concerned Tennesseans will be amended to conform to the current Senate version which removes the most ‘controversial’ elements, most notably the proposed redefinition of what a Political Action Committee is under law.

In a reply email to a concerned constituent that reached out Representative Sam Whitson (R-Franklin-District 65), he stated that the bill was altered from its original form by the Senate sponsor, Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7) and himself because they “did not understand the intent when it was first submitted to us for consideration.”

Whitson went on to state that he and Briggs “did not like it before it became a public issue. I already submitted an amendment to conform to the senate version adopted last week. We wanted it to pass in the senate committees first to ID any other concerns.”

The bill was scheduled to be heard yesterday, February 22nd, in the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee but was deferred until March 1st.

According to a communication between subcommittee member Jeff Burkhart (R-Clarksville-District 75) and The Tennessee Conservative the morning prior to the subcommittee meeting, it is his understanding that the redrafted legislation will be the version that will be voted on when the subcommittee meets again on March 1st.

During the subcommittee meeting yesterday, Chairman Tim Rudd (R-Murfreesboro-District 34 ) announced at the beginning of the meeting that the bill was rolled one week and Whitson did not speak about the bill. Of note, the amendment that Whitson claims he filed for HB0183 does not appear as an attachment on the bill page on the General Assembly website. Only the amendment to the Senate bill is shown.

However, Whitson confirmed in an email to a constituent that he is indeed now “carrying the redrafted bill passed by the Senate.”

The redrafted version of the Senate bill, SB0160, has been placed on the Senate calendar for a vote today, February 23rd.

Background:

The original version of the companion bills, in part, sought to redefine a Political Action Committee as: 

(A) A club, corporation, association, or other group of persons that receives contributions or makes expenditures to support or oppose a measure; or 

(B) A club, corporation, association, or other group of persons that receives contributions or makes expenditures to support or oppose two (2) or more candidates for public office during a calendar year, and the contributions or expenditures in the aggregate exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000)

This proposed redefinition posed a significant threat to the freedom of speech of news outlets, advocacy groups and many individuals and smaller companies across the state by potentially forcing them to register as PACs and be subject to the regulatory authority of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, which has the power to fine the PAC up to $10,000 or close the organization.    

The legislation as it was originally written, gave news outlets, advocacy groups, etc. few options.  They could choose to conform to the redefinition of their organizations and be subject to regulations and penalties originally meant for campaign financing or allow themselves to be silenced on important legislative issues and the support or opposition of political figures.

Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7), sponsor of SB0160, re-introduced his bill in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on February 7th with an amendment that almost completely remade the bill and removed language that could jeopardize news outlets, advocacy groups, businesses and many individuals.

The extended concern surrounding the bill came when it wasn’t made clear that the House sponsor of the bill intended to adopt the Senate amendment.

Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands said that theoretically, “the House could pass a different version of the bill. The House could still move forward with the original language. If that happens, you will end up with two different versions of the bill in the Senate and the House and at the end of it all, they would have to go into what’s called a ‘conference committee,’ wherein compromises are made and a new bill comes out on which the House and Senate have to agree on to send to the Governor’s office.”

It appears that the House may now be in line with the Senate with the current version of the legislation.

However, The Tennessee Conservative will keep a close eye on this legislation as it continues to progress in the General Assembly.

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