IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL FILERS

The Registry of Election Finance and the Tennessee Ethics Commission now have a Drop Box in the WRS Tennessee Tower.  It is located near the Tennessee State Parks Gift Store on the 2^nd Floor adjacent to the Entrance from Rosa L. Parks Avenue. You may use this drop box to submit any paper filings.

For Candidates

·       You are required to ensure that the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance has a valid email address for you on file at all times and to ensure that you are regularly monitoring these inboxes.  Effective January 1, 2024, the Bureau will begin providing ALL notices by electronic mail to the email address on file in our office for each filer.  Where electronic mail is not available, the Bureau will send all notices by first-class mail to the address on file in our office for each filer.  Again, it is your responsibility to ensure that your contact information is correct and up to date with our office and to check your email inboxes and regular mail receptacles. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-55-107 (effective March 14, 2023).

·       Filing Reminders for the 2023 Year-End Supplemental Report will be sent by both electronic mail and regular mail in the coming days.  If you do not receive this letter by BOTH electronic mail and regular mail, you MUST ensure that your contact information is correct with the Registry of Election Finance.

·       All notices sent by either the Registry of Election Finance or the Tennessee Ethics Commission will be presumed to have been properly delivered and received either 5 days from the date of electronic transmission or 5 days from the date of postmark, as applicable, absent affirmative evidence of the contrary.

·       For all candidates and/or officeholders reporting an unexpended balance or an outstanding loan or obligation and who have not affirmatively filed as a candidate in a future election, along with your campaign financial disclosure report, you are required to file a copy of your campaign banking account statements corresponding to the full term of the reporting period.  We are currently working to implement an electronic submission process to collect these statements; however, until this process is completed, you may submit these statements to registry.info@tn.gov. Failure to file these bank statements is a Class 2 Offense subject to the assessment of a Class 2 Civil Penalty up to $10,000.

·       Campaign funds are not the personal property of any candidate, and you are required to ensure that all campaign funds remain separate and segregated from all other funds.  You may not use campaign funds to pay civil penalties.  For those required to file their banking statements, as outlined above, you must continue to file these banking statements until you either close your current filing account or file to run as a candidate in a future election.  However, be advised, that any funds transferred to a campaign filing account for a future election are “locked-in” to that election and may not be used for a campaign for election to another office until that election has passed.

For PACs

·       You are required to ensure that the Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance has a valid email address for you on file at all times and to ensure that you are regularly monitoring these inboxes. Effective January 1, 2024, the Registry of Election Finance will begin providing all notices by electronic mail to the email address on file in our office for each filer, including for each identified Responsible Individual.  Where electronic mail is not available, the Registry will send all notices by first-class mail to the address on file in our office for each filer, including for each identified Responsible Individual.  Each Responsible Individual must have an email address and/or mailing address on file with our office.  It is your responsibility to ensure that ALL contact information is correct and up to date with our office, to ensure that we have the best contact information for each individual, and to check your email inboxes and regular mail receptacles regularly. Tenn. Code Ann. 4-55-107 (effective March 14, 2023).

·       Filing Reminders for the 2023 Year-End Supplemental Report will be sent by both electronic mail and regular mail in the coming days.  If you do not receive this letter by BOTH electronic mail and regular mail, you MUST ensure that your contact information is correct with the Registry.

·       Responsible Individuals are personally responsible for any civil penalty assessed against a PAC.  Pursuant to T.C.A. § 2-10-110(f)(1) of Tennessee’s Campaign Financial Disclosure Act, as amended in 2023, any person who directly controlled expenditures for the PAC (referred to by the Registry as the “Responsible Individual(s)”), including any candidate named as a treasurer or officer for the PAC or constructively controlling or directing the PAC, is personally liable for any civil penalty assessed against the committee by the Registry for violations of the campaign finance laws.  These penalties cannot be paid using PAC funds.

·       The Registry will be sending an Annual Registration letter to you in the coming days.  If any of your contact information has changed, or if there is a better contact method than the one on file, you may change your contact information by responding to this letter.  However, if you need to change your Responsible Individual(s), Officer(s), or Treasurer, you must complete a new Appointment of Political Treasurer and Officers form and submit it to the Registry.  These can be submitted by mail, fax, or email to Registry.Info@tn.gov.