(a) Within forty-five (45) days following conclusion of the six-month periods ending June 30 and December 31, each employer of a lobbyist shall electronically file with the ethics commission the employer disclosure report. For the six-month period, the report shall disclose the following information on a single electronic form:
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 3-6-303
Administrative action: means the taking of any recommendation, report or nonministerial action. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
Compensation: means any salary, fee, payment, reimbursement or other valuable consideration, or any combination thereof, whether received or to be received. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
employer: means any person or entity that employs, retains or otherwise arranges for a lobbyist to engage in lobbying on behalf of the person or entity for compensation. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
Expenditure: means any advance, conveyance, deposit, distribution, transfer of funds, loan, payment, pledge, or subscription of money or anything of value, and any contract, agreement, promise, or other obligation, whether or not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
Lobbyist: means any person who engages in lobbying for compensation. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The aggregate total amount of lobbyist compensation paid by the employer. For purposes of the disclosure, compensation paid to any lobbyist who performs duties for the employer in addition to lobbying and related activities shall be apportioned to reflect the lobbyist’s time allocated for lobbying and related activities in this state. The aggregate total amount of such lobbyist compensation shall be reported within one (1) of the following ranges:
(A) Less than $10,000;(B) At least $10,000 but less than $25,000;(C) At least $25,000 but less than $50,000;(D) At least $50,000 but less than $100,000;(E) At least $100,000 but less than $150,000;(F) At least $150,000 but less than $200,000;(G) At least $200,000 but less than $250,000;(H) At least $250,000 but less than $300,000;(I) At least $300,000 but less than $350,000;(J) At least $350,000 but less than $400,000; or(K) $400,000 or more; provided, however, that, if the aggregate total amount is reported within this range, then the employer shall round the aggregate total amount to the nearest $50,000 and also report the rounded amount within the disclosure report;(2) Excluding lobbyist compensation, the aggregate total amount of employer expenditures incurred for the purpose of influencing legislative or administrative action through public opinion or grassroots action, including, but not necessarily limited to, any such expenditures for printing, publishing, advertising, broadcasting, paid announcements, audiotapes, videotapes, compact discs, digital video discs, infomercials, rallies, demonstrations, seminars, lectures, conferences, postage, telephone-related costs, internet-related services, public relations services, governmental relations services, polling services, travel expenses, grants to issue groups or grassroots organizations, or any similar expense. For purposes of this disclosure, any such expenditure that is made for the purpose of achieving a multistate effect shall be apportioned equally among such states. The aggregate total amount of these employer expenditures shall be reported within one (1) of the following ranges:
(A) Less than $10,000;(B) At least $10,000 but less than $25,000;(C) At least $25,000 but less than $50,000;(D) At least $50,000 but less than $100,000;(E) At least $100,000 but less than $150,000;(F) At least $150,000 but less than $200,000;(G) At least $200,000 but less than $250,000;(H) At least $250,000 but less than $300,000;(I) At least $300,000 but less than $350,000;(J) At least $350,000 but less than $400,000; or(K) $400,000 or more; provided, however, if the aggregate total amount is reported within this range, then the employer shall round the aggregate total amount to the nearest $50,000 and also report the rounded amount within the disclosure report; and(3) The aggregate total amount of all employer expenditures for any event permissible under § 3-6-305(b)(8).(b) Employer disclosure reports shall be promptly posted on the commission’s website. Any such posting of an employer’s aggregate total expenditures disclosed pursuant to subdivision (a)(3) shall be supplemented by the commission with other information related to such event or events, delivered or reported to the commission pursuant to § 3-6-305(b)(8).
