Governor Lee reimburses ADF after ethics panel flags travel expenses as ‘indirect gift’

Governor Bill Lee is paying back the Alliance Defending Freedom after the ADF picked up the tab for his travel expenses to its conference over the summer. This follows the state ethics committee’s opinion that Governor Lee violated state law.

In July, Governor Lee traveled to Marco Island, FL, for this paid trip as a keynote speaker at the ADF Summit. However, the advocacy group employs a registered Tennessee lobbyist, which violates state statutes.

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Ethics Commission asked Governor Bill Lee to reimburse ADF, calling the travel expenses an “indirect gift.” Now, Democratic lawmaker Caleb Hemmer says he is pleased by the committee’s opinion.

“We’re glad that the Tennessee Ethics Commission took the unprecedented step of actually admonishing a governor for unethical and illegal behavior,” he stated.

A spokesperson with the governor’s office says the expenses have now been repaid, but they’ve asked the bureau for clarity around their “vague law.”

In the meantime, Hemmer says he’s now looking into ways to clarify this ruling in the next legislative session “to make the law clear around what is ethical and what is unethical and illegal.”

You can read the advisory opinion issued by the commission relating to Governor Lee below:

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