TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on May 15, 2023

More than a month after a House ethics panel found a sitting state representative sexually harassed a 19-year-old intern, legislative officials have not released any records — or a dollar amount — of what taxpayer money may have been spent to address the situation. The Tennessean reports that it has filed several records requests, all of which have been denied. The paper also reports that the Office of Legislative Administration has declined to provide information on any other ethics or sexual harassment complaints. Also, open government advocates have been trying to find out if House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, knew about and/or approved the expenditure. Sexton told the paper he does not know if expenditures were made and is not aware of anyone in his office signing off on the spending. NewsChannel 5 previously reported that at least $8,800 was spent to relocate the intern.