Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has repaid about $1,900 for a trip to a conference after ethics officials found that he shouldn’t have relied on an outside group to cover the travel.
The Tennessee Ethics Commission released the opinion Tuesday, ruling that the payment violated a state law banning officials like the governor from accepting gifts directly or indirectly from a lobbyist or a lobbyist’s employer. The Republican governor had requested the commission’s opinion after his July trip to Florida drew scrutiny.
As first reported by The Tennessean, Lee traveled to Marco Island, Florida, to be the keynote speaker at a conference by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which covered his trip. The conservative Christian legal advocacy group is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and it has a partner 501(c)4 organization named ADF Action. ADF Action has a registered lobbyist in Tennessee.
After the ethics opinion’s release, Lee spokesperson Elizabeth Lane Johnson said the expenses had been repaid under the new guidance in connection with the travel to the popular resort island off southwest Florida’s Gulf Coast.
“We asked the Bureau for clarity around their interpretation of this vague law and appreciate their response,” Johnson said Tuesday.