Tennessee House Bill HB2073

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/26
• Refer: 2/4/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Refer: 3/31/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 2; Title 3 and Title 8, relative to lobbying.

Summary

HB2073 amends Tennessee’s lobbying law to narrow a specific exemption related to who is considered an employer of a lobbyist. Under current law, certain boards, utilities, districts, departments, agencies, or other entities that hire a contractor, subcontractor, or representative to lobby are not deemed the employer of that lobbyist for purposes of the lobbying statute. The bill revises that language so the exemption applies only when a department, agency, or other entity of state government hires a contractor, subcontractor, or representative to engage in lobbying. In practical terms, the bill appears to clarify and limit the scope of the employer exemption in the lobbying registration and regulation framework under Title 3. It would affect how lobbying relationships are treated under state ethics and disclosure rules, particularly for state government entities that contract for lobbying services. The bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 3-6-301(15)(D), within the state’s lobbying laws. Its main legal effect is to replace broader language covering boards, utilities, districts, departments, agencies, or other entities with narrower language focused on departments, agencies, or entities of state government. This change may alter how certain public entities are treated under lobbying-employer rules and could affect compliance, registration, and reporting obligations for contractors or representatives engaged in lobbying on behalf of government entities.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support and no recorded opposition in committee, with unanimous or near-unanimous favorable recommendations in both the House Public Service Subcommittee and the House State & Local Government Committee. There is no committee transcript available, but the vote pattern suggests the bill was viewed as a routine or clarifying measure rather than a controversial policy change.

Contention

No explicit contention is reflected in the available materials. The only potentially notable issue is the bill’s narrowing of the exemption language, which could matter to public entities that use outside contractors or representatives for lobbying. However, the committee votes indicate no visible disagreement at the committee stage, and no opposing arguments are documented in the provided record.