Tennessee House Bill HB0391

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/27/25
• Refer: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/18/25
• Refer: 4/8/25
• Chaptered: 4/29/25
• Passed: 4/29/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 48, Chapter 101, Part 5, relative to timing of filing fundraising campaign literature.

Summary

HB0391 amends Tennessee’s charitable solicitation law in Title 48, Chapter 101, Part 5, specifically the rules governing when professional solicitors must file fundraising campaign literature with the Secretary of State. Under the bill, the filing deadline is moved from before a solicitation campaign begins to within 90 days after a campaign is completed, or within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year for campaigns lasting more than one year. The bill also removes language tying the filing requirement to literature “utilized in the campaign” and deletes a separate requirement that the Secretary of State be notified within seven days of any modification to campaign solicitation literature or promotional materials. In effect, the measure reduces the timing and update burdens on professional solicitors and shifts compliance toward post-campaign reporting rather than pre-campaign and immediate-change notice.

Impact

The bill changes Tennessee Code Annotated § 48-101-513(h)(3) by relaxing and restructuring filing obligations for fundraising campaign literature. It affects professional solicitors and charitable solicitation campaigns by eliminating the need for advance filing and rapid notice of changes, while preserving a requirement to submit materials after the campaign ends or after the fiscal year closes for longer campaigns. The Secretary of State’s oversight role remains, but the compliance timeline becomes less immediate and more retrospective.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong, bipartisan support and no recorded opposition. The bill passed the House subcommittee 5-0, the House State & Local Government Committee 19-0, and the floor on consent calendar passage by a vote of 94-0. The absence of committee transcript debate suggests the measure was viewed as routine or noncontroversial.

Contention

No notable contention is reflected in the available record. Because there are no committee transcripts and every recorded vote was unanimous, there is no evidence of disagreement over the policy change. The only likely policy issue is whether reducing pre-campaign and rapid-change filing requirements weakens transparency or enforcement, but that concern is not shown in the recorded proceedings.