- (1) A candidate or political campaign committee shall not commingle personal funds or any other monies with campaign account funds. A candidate or political campaign committee shall not commingle personal credit transactions with credit transactions incurred for campaign purposes and/or to be paid with campaign funds.
- (2) All campaign funds deposited into an investment account must come from the campaign account. All funds withdrawn from an investment account must be deposited back into the campaign account.
- (3) All expenditures from campaign monies shall be made from a candidate’s or political campaign committee’s campaign account.
(4) A candidate or political campaign committee shall maintain the following financial records:
- (a) A list identifying the name of each contributor, the amount of each contribution, and the date of receipt of each campaign contribution received. The list shall be able to distinguish between contributors with like names.
- (b) Copies of checks, money orders, wire or account transfer statements, withdrawal statements, credit or debit statements, bank statements, vendor receipts, and other documentation directly resulting from a financial transaction involving the receipt and/or disbursement of any funds subject to disclosure under Title 2, Chapter 10, Part 1.
- (5) A candidate or political campaign committee shall maintain all accounting records and required documentation listed in paragraphs (5) and (6) for at least two (2) years after the date of the election to which the records refer or the date of the statement, whichever is later. However, if investigative procedures or a contested case hearing have been initiated against a candidate or political campaign committee, accounting records relating to a campaign account and/or a campaign financial disclosure report must be maintained by the candidate or committee until the investigation or contested case hearing has been completed and the Registry gives approval for the records to be destroyed.
- (6) A candidate or political campaign committee shall have bank account reconciliations performed for a campaign account to ensure that the bank account balances with the financial disclosure reports filed by the candidate or committee.
(7) “Best Efforts” to obtain the occupation, employer and complete address for contributors includes the following:
- (a) Notifying the contributor, by first class mail and/or email, if available, that additional information concerning the contributor is required under state law.
- (b) Including on a written solicitation for contributions a clear request for the contributor’s name, address, occupation and employer and by accurately stating that the information is required under state law.
- (c) Notifying the contributor orally, documented in writing, that additional information concerning the contributor is required under state law. The written documentation should include the name of the person spoken to, the date of the conversation, the information provided and the telephone number, if applicable.
- (8) If the occupation for any contributor is listed as “retired,” “student,” “housewife,” or “househusband” then the candidate is not required to obtain an employer.
Authority: T.C.A. §§ 2-10-105, 2-10-105(f), 2-10-107, 2-10-107(a)(2)(A)(ii), 2-10-206(a)(5), 2-10-206(5), and 2-10-207(1). Administrative History: Original rule filed March 12, 1993; effective April 26, 1993. Amended by Public Chapter 467; effective May 31, 1993. Amendments filed November 17, 2007; effective March 28, 2008. Amendments filed August 19, 2025; effective November 17, 2025.