Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Asks Ethics Commission for Advice on Travel Payments

After threats from Democrats about an ethics complaint over his trip to Florida paid for by an outside group, Gov. Bill Lee asked the Tennessee Ethics Commission to clarify whether accepting such payments is permissible under state law.

According to a letter sent to ethics commissioners Friday by Chief Ethics Counsel Erin Merrick, Lee pledges to return the funds if the commission finds the travel payments were illegal or unethical.

In July, Lee traveled to Marco Island, Fla., to be a keynote speaker at a conference for Alliance Defending Freedom, the group behind several controversial new state laws. ADF, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and its 501(c)4 partner employ Matthew Lorimer, a registered lobbyist in Tennessee.

State ethics laws prohibit members of the executive branch from accepting gifts, including travel expenses, from lobbyists and their employers.

According to the governor’s office, travel expenses covered by Alliance Defending Freedom totaled about $1,900.

Lee told reporters this week that he did not intend to reimburse travel expenses incurred by the outside group.

In response, the Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives threatened to file an ethics complaint against Lee to force the governor to return the funds.

In a letter sent Friday, Merrick asks the Ethics Commission for guidance on whether 501(c)3 organizations whose employees are registered lobbyists can cover travel expenses for executive branch officials.

“Governor Lee is committed to ethics and transparency,” Merrick writes.

Lee’s trip was not publicly announced, nor was it documented on any of his social media accounts. The only mention of Lee traveling to the ADF conference outside of his office’s schedules, obtained by The Tennessean through an open records request, is an expense recorded in campaign finance disclosures.

“If it is clear from the Commission’s guidance that the Governor, despite his efforts and intentions, failed to comply with ethics laws, Governor Lee will correct that error by reimbursing him for his expenses,” Merrick wrote.

Before the event, Lee’s team repeatedly confirmed that Alliance Defending Freedom “is neither a lobbyist nor an employer of a lobbyist,” the letter states. The group operated “with complete independence” from its advocacy arm in organizing the event, and Lorimer “had no knowledge of the Summit speakers until months after the invitations were sent and accepted.”

“Matt Lorimer is a registered lobbyist in Tennessee on behalf of ADF Action. He is also an employee of Alliance Defending Freedom. However, Alliance Defending Freedom is not an employer of lobbyist under Tennessee ethics law,” Merrick argues, citing state law that defines an “employer of lobbyist” as an employer that hires a lobbyist “to lobby on his or her behalf.”

The letter also said Alliance Defending Freedom and ADF Action are “significantly different” in “every material respect,” emphasizing different corporate structures, separate bank accounts and financial records, and different missions and charters.

According to tax returns, ADF Action’s management team is made up entirely of ADF’s top executives. The two entities also share the same address and employees, including Lorimer.

“Neither the Governor nor his team received information before or after the event that led us to believe that a lobbyist or a lobbyist’s employer indirectly paid the Governor’s expenses,” Merrick wrote.

Following a recommendation from the Ethics Committee, Lee’s team is also working to expand ethics training required for all members of his cabinet.

Last week, the ethics commission dismissed a complaint against Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds alleging she illegally accepted travel payments from a lobbying group in the legislature, saying that since she had repaid the funds, there was no reason to pursue the case.

Last year, Reynolds went to two out-of-state conferences hosted by ExcelinEd — her former employer and a national school choice advocacy group — with the organization covering her expenses. ExcelinEd, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and its 501(c)4 partner, ExcelinEd Action, employ Miranda Williams, who is a registered lobbyist in Tennessee.

After The Tennessean first reported the trip, Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, filed an ethics complaint against Reynolds, alleging she had circumvented ethics rules by accepting the payments. Reynolds then repaid about $2,000 in travel expenses and received reimbursement from the state.