Tennessee lawmakers look to double audits of campaign accounts

NASHVILLE - Tennessee Senate leaders are pushing to change state law so that campaign ethics officials review twice as many campaign finance reports as they do now.

The proposal, spearheaded by Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, would require the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance to audit 4 percent of all campaign accounts during any twoyear election cycle. Currently, the 10person registry staff conducts audits of 2 percent of accounts, in addition to reviewing complaints received about specific candidates.

“The number of audits that we perform has long been of interest to me because I think we need to do more audits,” Yager said Friday.

“I think it is so important for accountability to the public and transparency,” he added. “To me that is just the bedrock of our ability to govern. Once our credibility is ruined or gone then we can’t properly govern.”

Yager said he’s looked at doubling the number of audits of campaign reports for some time. But action on the idea comes after a USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee investigation found lawmakers using campaign funds to possibly double dip on expenses paid for with daily per diems and spending campaign donations on purchases that appear to provide a personal benefit. While lawmakers may have paperwork or an explanation to support such purchases, double dipping and using campaign funds for personal purposes are illegal.

The potential change also comes on the heels of a scathing audit from the registry that found expelled former lawmaker Jeremy Durham may have broken campaign finance law as many as 690 times. After the Durham audit