TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Apr 25, 2022

As a new campaign finance and ethics bill works its way through the legislature, Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, is hitting back at what he calls “blatant untruths” being spread about the legislation. McNally said efforts to get nonprofit “dark money” groups to disclose how much they are spending has caused the most furor with some groups accusing lawmakers of forcing them to identify their donors. “It is amazing that various seemingly ‘legitimate’ groups are resorting to such disingenuous tactics,” he said. McNally argues that the bill “does not censor or otherwise curtail conservative activism or free speech in any way” and is designed to crack down on bad actors “like the fictitious Matthew Phoenix and the various shell companies and shadowy PACs used by certain legislators.” The Tennessee Journal has McNally’s full statement.