In light of a recent Supreme Court decision removing limits on corporate donations for political campaigns, Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, is sponsoring a bill that would require corporations to disclose publicly all political donations in Tennessee.
“We have huge corporations laying off workers, and now they can turn around and spend unlimited sums on political campaigns,” Sen. Berke said. “The priority for these companies should be saving jobs.”
The bill requires greater accountability of corporate contributions than individual donations already covered under state law. Corporations would file a disclosure statement including the names and addresses of all corporate officers, directors and shareholders; names and addresses of lobbyists employed by the corporation; a detailed list of lobbying expenses; and the contracts the company has with state or local government.
Political campaigns would also be required to include a disclaimer in radio, TV, print and Internet ads paid with corporate money. The disclaimer would read, “This communication was paid for by (company name) using corporate funds.”
The bill is designed to discourage corporations from unfairly influencing elections by donating huge amounts of money with strings attached, Sen. Berke said.
“We need less special interest money in our elections, not more,” Sen. Berke said. “If corporations want to spend money on elections instead of employees, the public is going to know about it.”
The bill was filed this week and awaits committee assignment.
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Senator Andy Berke represents portions of Hamilton and Marion Counties. Contact him at sen.andy.berke@capitol.tn.gov or (615) 741-6682 or 310 War Memorial Building, Nashville, TN 37243-0210.
