Advisory Opinion Text
S T A T E O F T E N N E S S E E
OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
PO BOX 20207 NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37202
February 25, 2009
Opinion No. 09-17
Fundraising for Federal Office During Legislative Session_
QUESTION
Whether a member of the General Assembly may raise funds for a campaign for election to a federal office while the General Assembly is in session.
OPINION
A member of the General Assembly may raise funds for a campaign for election to a federal office while the General Assembly is in session.
ANALYSIS
Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-10-310(a), generally, no member of the General Assembly or the member's campaign committee may conduct a fundraiser or solicit or accept "contributions" for the benefit of the caucus, any caucus member or member or candidate of the general assembly or governor while the General Assembly is in session, including any extraordinary session. The term "contribution" as used in this statute means any thing of value "made for the purpose of . . . nomination for election or the election of any person for public office'" Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-10-102(4) (emphasis added). This Office has previously opined that, because the term "public office" is defined as "any state public office or local public office filled by the voters," Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-10-102(11), the provisions of Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-10-310(a) do not prohibit a member of the General Assembly from soliciting or receiving campaign contributions for nomination or election to federal office while the General Assembly is in session. We further opined that, to the extent the statute could be interpreted to apply to fundraising for federal
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office, a court would probably conclude that it was preempted by federal law.
Teper v. Miller,
82 F.3d 989 (11
Cir. 1996) (fundraising restriction on state legislators preempted by federal campaign finance laws).
See
Op. Tenn. Att'y Gen. 00-185 (December 13, 2000) (copy attached).
ROBERT E. COOPER, JR.
Attorney General and Reporter
MICHAEL E. MOORE
Solicitor General
JANET M. KLEINFELTER
Senior Counsel
Requested by:
The Honorable David Hawk State Representative 219 War Memorial Building Nashville 37243-0105