Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he will sign into law legislation requiring dark-money groups that pour cash into political campaigns to disclose their expenditures before elections.
“I think that transparency’s a good idea,” Lee told the Tennessee Lookout recently. “I think that whenever we have transparency into organizations that politically lobby, that’s a good thing, so that’s why I’m in favor of it.”
The governor said he supports the bill in spite of opposition from groups that vehemently oppose the legislation, including ALEC Action, which urged him to veto the bill two weeks ago. ALEC Action, the advocacy partner of the American Legislative Exchange Council, has widespread influence across the nation, putting out model legislation sponsored by conservative lawmakers each year.
In a Monday statement, ALEC Action acknowledged the legislation reached Lee’s desk with “widespread” bipartisan backing from the legislature. But it maintained the legislation goes too far.