2023 Tennessee Code › Title 2 - ELECTIONS (§§ 2-1-101 — 2-20-109) › Chapter 10 - CAMPAIGN FINANCES (§§ 2-10-101 — 2-10-406) › Part 3 - CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS LIMITS (§§ 2-10-301 — 2-10-313) › Section 2-10-302 - Contribution limits

(a)
No person shall make contributions to any candidate with respect to any election which, in the aggregate, exceed:
(1)
For an office elected by statewide election, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); or
(2)
For any other state or local public office, one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b)
No multicandidate political campaign committee shall make contributions to any candidate with respect to any election which, in the aggregate, exceed:
(1)
For an office elected by statewide election, the senate, or the house of representatives, seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500); and
(2)
For any other state or local public office, five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(c)
(1)
With respect to contributions from multicandidate political campaign committees for each election:
(A)
No candidate for an office elected by statewide election shall accept in the aggregate more than fifty percent (50%) of the candidate's total contributions from multicandidate political campaign committees; and
(B)
No candidate for any other state or local public office shall accept in the aggregate more than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) from multicandidate political campaign committees.
(2)
In determining the aggregate limits established by this subsection (c), contributions made to a candidate by a committee controlled by a political party on the national, state, or local level or by a caucus of such political party established by members of either house of the general assembly are not included.
(d)
(1)
Each contribution limit established in subsection (a), (b) or (c) shall be adjusted to reflect the percentage of change in the average consumer price index (all items-city average), as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, for the period of January 1, 1996, through December 31, 2010. Each such adjustment shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars ($100). The registry of election finance shall publish each such adjusted amount on its website.
(2)
On January 1, 2013, and every two (2) years thereafter, each contribution limit established in subsection (a), (b) or (c), as adjusted pursuant to subdivision (d)(1), shall be further adjusted to reflect the percentage of change in the average consumer price index (all items-city average), as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, for the two-year period immediately preceding. Each such adjustment under this subdivision (d)(2) shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of one hundred dollars ($100). The registry of election finance shall publish each such adjusted amount on its website.
(e)
(1)
A candidate for state or local public office, or an elected state or local public office holder, shall not accept a contribution with respect to an election in excess of the loans and obligations outstanding from such election after the close of the reporting period following the date of the election, not including the reporting period in which the election occurs. A successful candidate for state or local public office who reports no outstanding loans or obligations may continue to accept contributions for the purpose of defraying officeholder expenses until the close of the reporting period following the date of the election, not including the reporting period in which the election occurs.
(2)
Beginning with the reporting period following the date of the election, not including the reporting period in which the election occurs, a candidate for state or local public office reporting an unexpended balance or an outstanding loan or obligation who has not affirmatively created a new campaign account for the next election shall, in addition to the reporting requirements established by §§
2-10-105
and
2-10-107
, file a complete copy of the candidate's campaign account banking statements corresponding to the full term of the reporting period with the registry or local election commission, as applicable. Such banking statements must continue to be filed by the candidate for each required reporting period until such time as the candidate no longer possesses an unexpended balance of funds or an outstanding loan or obligation, or until such time as the candidate transfers such funds, loans, or obligations to another campaign fund for a subsequent election pursuant to §
2-10-114(a)(1)
, whichever occurs earlier. A failure to file the required banking statements is a Class 2 offense as defined by §
2-10-110(a)(2)
.
(3)
This subsection (e) does not:
(A)
Prevent a candidate who is a candidate in the general election from paying primary election loans and obligations with funds that represent contributions made with respect to the general election; or
(B)
Prevent a candidate who is a candidate in a run-off election from paying loans and obligations with respect to the previous election with funds that represent contributions made with respect to the run-off election.
(f)
(1)
Contributions received by a candidate must be attributed to the appropriate election, and reported accordingly, in accordance with the following criteria:
(A)
In the case of a contribution designated in writing by the contributor for a particular election, the election so designated; and
(B)
In the case of a contribution not designated in writing by the contributor for a particular election, the next election after the contribution is made.
(2)
A contribution designated in writing for a particular election, but made after that election, must be made only to the extent that the contribution does not exceed the contribution limits from such election. To the extent that such contribution exceeds the contribution limits from such election, the candidate shall either return the contribution to the contributor or obtain written authorization from the contributor to redesignate the contribution to another election within sixty (60) calendar days of the receipt of the contribution.
(g)
(1)
A contribution made by more than one (1) person, except for a contribution made by a partnership, must include the signature of each contributor on the check, money order, or other negotiable instrument or in a separate writing. If a contribution made by more than one (1) person does not indicate the amount to be attributed to each contributor, the contribution is deemed to be attributed equally to each contributor.
(2)
The limitations on contributions in this section apply separately to contributions made by spouses, even if only one (1) spouse has income; provided, that each spouse signs the check, money order, or other negotiable instrument or the separate contributions are designated in writing by the contributing spouses as being independent contributions. Contributions made from an account shared by spouses, regardless of the type of account, must be presumed to be made by the individual authorizing the contribution alone, absent the written designation of independent contributions.
(h)
The limitations of this section apply separately with respect to each election. An election in which a candidate is unopposed is a separate election for the purposes of the limitations on contributions in this section.
Amended by 2023 Tenn. Acts, ch. 108, s 10, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 487, s 4, eff. 5/18/2021.
Acts 1995, ch. 531, § 1; 2003 , ch. 416, § 1; 2011 , ch. 389, § 4.