(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, if a person receives as compensation for lobbying only reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket personal expenses, and if the person receives reimbursement for ten (10) days or less per year, then the person is not a lobbyist for purposes of this chapter or § 67-4-1702(a)(1).
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 3-6-307
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
Lobbyist: means any person who engages in lobbying for compensation. See Tennessee Code 3-6-301
Person: means any individual, partnership, committee, association, corporation, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons. 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
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, if a person receives as compensation for lobbying only reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket personal expenses, and if the person receives the reimbursement for more than ten (10) days per year, then the person shall register as a lobbyist and shall comply with all lobbyist requirements imposed pursuant to this chapter; provided, however, that the commission shall waive the person’s registration fee and the person shall be exempt from payment of the occupational privilege tax on lobbyists imposed by § 67-4-1702(a)(1).(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, if an individual or entity employs, retains or otherwise arranges for one or more persons to engage in lobbying for compensation, and if the only compensation paid is reimbursement for actual out-of-pocket personal expenses, and if the reimbursement is not paid for more than ten (10) days per person per year, then the individual or entity is not an employer of a lobbyist for purposes of this chapter.(d) For purposes of this section, the term “out-of-pocket personal expenses” includes such things as the lobbyist registration fee, legislative information services material, copying expenses, transportation costs, parking fees, and personal lodging and food expenses incurred while actually engaging in lobbying. Reimbursement for transportation, parking, personal lodging and food costs shall be limited to expenses allowed for those items in the comprehensive state travel regulations. No such reimbursed expenses shall be for the benefit of any public official, except for informational materials delivered to public officials.
