Tennessee Senate Bill SB0453

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/29/25
• Engrossed: 3/17/25
• Enrolled: 4/16/25
• Passed: 4/24/25
• Chaptered: 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

SB0453 amends Tennessee’s charitable solicitation law to change when certain fundraising campaign literature must be filed with the Secretary of State. Under current law, professional solicitors had to submit solicitation campaign literature before a campaign began and notify the state within seven days of any changes to that literature. This bill replaces that timing with a post-campaign filing requirement: the literature must be filed within 90 days after a solicitation campaign ends, or within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year for campaigns lasting more than one year. The bill also removes language tied to the literature being “utilized in the campaign” and deletes the requirement for written notice within seven days of modifications or changes to campaign solicitation literature or promotional materials. In practical terms, the measure shifts state oversight from an advance-review model to a retrospective filing model for professional solicitors operating fundraising campaigns in Tennessee.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 48, Chapter 101, Part 5, specifically Section 48-101-513(h)(3), affecting the regulatory requirements for professional solicitors and fundraising campaigns. It reduces the immediacy of filing obligations with the Secretary of State and eliminates a separate rapid-notice requirement for changes to solicitation materials, which may lessen administrative burdens on fundraising operators while changing how and when the state receives campaign literature for review or recordkeeping.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It was recommended for passage in the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee by an 8-0 vote and later adopted on the Senate floor by a 32-0 vote. No committee transcript is available, but the unanimous votes indicate little visible opposition in the recorded legislative process.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the available materials. The main policy issue implied by the text is whether fundraising literature should be filed before a campaign begins, as under prior law, or after the campaign concludes, as this bill provides. Any disagreement would likely center on balancing regulatory oversight and transparency against reduced compliance burdens for professional solicitors and charitable fundraising organizations.