Haslam stands by privacy bill
Keeps firms getting tax incentive secret
NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam Wednesday defended his legislative efforts to make secret the names of business owners getting millions of state taxpayer dollars to build or expand in Tennessee.
The bill, set for a Senate f loor vote this morning, would expand confidentiality provisions already in state law regarding the propri- etary information of companies awarded taxpayer-funded incentives to include the names of owners of privately held companies.
The Senate vote on SB 2207 was delayed Monday after state Sen. Roy Herron, DDresden, argued that taxpayers deserve to know who’s getting their tax money and that secrecy could lead to corruption.
Meanwhile, the president of the Nashville Tea Party and a co -founder of Tennessee Tax Revolt called the bill an “absurdity.”
“We’re absolutely opposed to it,” said Ben Cunningham of Nashville. “It’s an insult to every taxpayer in the state. It’s crazy to demand secrecy when you’re giving away taxpayer money. It’s going to get to the point where giveaways are done for political contributions or personal favors. It’s happened in other states, and it’s an open invitation to that kind of corruption.”
But Haslam told reporters Wednesday his economic development officials want the bill to protect Tennessee’s competitiveness with other states in the cutthroat business of industrial recruiting, where companies play states against each other to maximize the taxpayer funding they get to build or expand operations.
“I think ECD’S (the Department of Economic and Community Development) feelings are that in a very competitive world out there, we’re competing with other states, that (public disclosure of ownership interests) would put us at a disadvantage,” the governor said.
Haslam and ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty say they want the bill so they can require businesses seeking state incentives to turn over sensitive information to state officials analyzing whether to award them the state cash grants, tax incentives or credits. They said businesses won’t produce the information if the state must make it public.
The Haslam administration has proposed another bill that would expand the state’s “Fast Track” incentive program beyond taxpayer funding of roads, utilities and employee training as incentives for new and expanding businesses to include cash grants for construction and equipping industrial plants. The state has committed more than $500 million in the past three years to four corporations for building industrial plants in Tennessee.