State Rep. Gerald McCormick Archives - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

Senate committee approves bill requiring more financial disclosure by lawmakers

The Senate State and Local Government Committee recommended for passage legislation that would require members of the General Assembly to disclose when they receive trips paid by a person with an interest in public policy. State Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and state Rep. Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, came about after stories reported by The Tennessean of a Gulf Shores fishing trip hosted by a school voucher advocate, a trip to Europe for lawmakers to learn about “radical Islam,” and trips to tour a North Carolina school, also funded by a voucher proponent. Overbey told the committee that his bill does not [...]

Ethics bills would require lawmaker disclosure of gifts, including for travel

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-20T11:03:17-05:00March 20, 2017|Categories: Legislature|Tags: financial disclosures, lawmaker travel, State Rep. Bud Hulsey, State Rep. Gerald McCormick, State Sen. Doug Overbey, State Sen. Richard Briggs|1 Comment

Two different sets of ethics legislation on House and Senate calendars this week would require more disclosure of gifts, including for travel, received by lawmakers from people with an interest in influencing public policy. Both sets of bills would increase transparency. Currently, anyone who is not a lobbyist or an employer of a lobbyist can give any amount of money or gift to a lawmaker and the lawmaker does not need to report that gift to the Tennessee Ethics Commission. The issue of such unreported gifts came to light last year after Dave Boucher and Joel Ebert of The Tennessean reported about a Gulf Shores fishing trip hosted by a [...]