Tennessee House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, of Chattanooga, right, and House Speaker Beth Harwell, of Nashville, are among the top five recipients of PAC funding in the Tennessee General Assembly for the current election season.TOP PACSThe top 5 political action committees and rankings for local PACs that gave directly to Tennessee lawmakers and legislative candidates between Jan. 16, 2011, and Jan. 15, 2012.*1) Federal Express PAC: $101,5822) AT&T Tennessee PAC: $93,1003) Wine & Spirits Wholesalers PAC: $78,1004) Independent Medicine’s PAC TN (physicians): $66,8505) Tennessee Parents/Teachers Putting Students First: $65,400LOCAL PACSJMS PAC (Check Into Cash founder Allan Jones/Cleveland): $36,000BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee (Chattanooga): $20,750Unum PAC (Chattanooga): $6,700Miller & Martin law firm/lobby (Chattanooga): $6,050Tennessee Valley Water Alliance (Tennessee American Water Co. and American Water): $4,900Cigna Corp. PAC (Chattanooga): $4,450* Source: Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. Excludes contributions to leadership PACs.TOP PAC RECIPIENTSHere are the top five recipients of PAC funding along with rankings for Southeast Tennessee legislators.*1) Senate Finance Committee Chairman Jack Johnson, R-Franklin: $88,2422) Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville: $80,6503) House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville: $79,4844) Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville: $66,4005) House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga: $65,10024) House Judiciary Committee Chairman Eric Watson, R-Cleveland: $36,57531) Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga: $30,80032) Senate Speaker Pro Tem Bo Watson, R-Chattanooga: $28,88038) House Government Operations Committee Chairman Jim Cobb, R-Spring City: $25,05039) Senate Government Operations Committee Chairman Mike Bell, R-Riceville: $24,75048) Sen. Eric Stewart, D-Belvidere: $20,65064) Rep. Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap: $15,05072) Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge: $13,55094) Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga: $9,000133) Rep. Tommie Brown, D-Chattanooga: $2,350134) Rep. Richard Floyd, R-Chattanooga: $2,350* Source: Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. Rankings affected by contributions to legislative candidates currently not in Legislature.
NASHVILLE — Dozens of special interests ranging from AT&T to Chattanooga-based BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee have given $2.93 million so far to the campaigns of Tennessee lawmakers and legislative candidates during the 2012 election cycle, state filings show.
A political action committee operated by Memphis-based FedEx Corp. topped the list, according to figures from the state’s Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance.
The shipping and logistics giant’s PAC gave $101,582 to dozens of lawmakers and candidates between Jan. 16, 2011, and Jan. 15, 2012, an analysis of direct contributions reported by lawmakers and candidates shows.
Government contractors, businesses regulated by the General Assembly and other interests, including organized labor, were among those giving through traditional PACs.