Foreign Nationals Barred from Referendum Contributions - Tennessee Public Chapter 506
Summary
Public Chapter 506 (2025) took effect April 21, 2025, prohibiting Referendum Committees from knowingly or willfully receiving, soliciting, or accepting contributions or expenditures from foreign nationals. Prohibited sources include non-U.S. citizens, foreign governments and their subdivisions, foreign political parties, entities organized under foreign laws or with principal places of business in foreign countries, and U.S. entities wholly or partly owned by foreign nationals. Registered referendum committees must now file certifications confirming no preliminary activity was funded by prohibited sources.
“Each referendum committee registered with the Registry must file a certification to the Registry confirming that no preliminary activity was funded by prohibited sources, whether directly or indirectly.”
Referendum committees and political campaign committees created to support or oppose measures in Tennessee must immediately review their contribution-receipt procedures to incorporate donor affirmations at the $100,000 threshold, four-year lookback certifications, and 48-hour expenditure certifications. Treasurers should update their onboarding forms for new donors and establish two-year record-retention protocols aligned with the April 21, 2025 effective date.
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What changed
Public Chapter 506 (2025) enacts a comprehensive prohibition on foreign-national contributions and expenditures in Tennessee referendum campaigns, effective April 21, 2025. The law defines five categories of prohibited sources: (1) non-citizen and non-lawful-permanent-resident individuals, (2) foreign governments and municipalities, (3) foreign political parties, (4) foreign-organized entities, and (5) U.S. entities owned by foreign nationals. The chapter also bars foreign nationals from directing, controlling, or participating in decisions about influencing measures, or from soliciting donations for such purposes.
Referendum committees, political campaign committees supporting or opposing measures, and persons making independent expenditures must implement new compliance procedures: certification filings to the Registry, donor affirmations at the $100,000 threshold within a four-year lookback period, 48-hour expenditure certifications, and two-year record retention. Treasurers receiving contributions must obtain written affirmations that donors are not foreign nationals and have not accepted over $100,000 from prohibited sources in the preceding four years.
For more information on the application and enforcement of this Public Chapter, please contact William Young at william.young@tn.gov.
What to do next
- Each referendum committee registered with the Registry must file a certification to the Registry confirming that no preliminary activity was funded by prohibited sources
- When a political campaign committee receives a contribution, the treasurer shall obtain from the donor an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds aggregating in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from prohibited sources within the four-year period immediately preceding the date the contribution is made
- Within forty-eight (48) hours of making an independent expenditure supporting or opposing a measure, the person making the expenditure must certify to the registry of election finance that the person has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds aggregating in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from prohibited sources within the four-year period immediately preceding the date the expenditure is made
Archived snapshot
Apr 23, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
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Prohibited Contributions to Referendum Committees
Monday, October 13, 2025 | 02:00pm Effective April 21, 2025, Public Chapter 506 (2025) went into effect. This Public Chapter prohibits a Referendum Committee from knowingly or willfully receiving, soliciting, or accepting contributions or expenditures, whether directly or indirectly, from foreign nationals, including: 1) individuals who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U.S.; 2) a government, or subdivision, of a foreign country or municipality thereof; 3) a foreign political party; 4) any entity, sucha s a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons, that is organized under the laws of, or has its principal place of business in, a foreign country; or 4) A US entity that is wholly or partly owned by a foreign national, unless certain facts exist.
Each referendum committee registered with the Registry must file a certification to the Registry confirming that no preliminary activity was funded by prohibited sources, whether directly or indirectly.
When a political campaign committee created to support or oppose a measure receives a contribution, the treasurer shall obtain from the donor an affirmation that the donor is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds aggregating in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from prohibited sources within the four-year period immediately preceding the date the contribution is made.
Within forty-eight (48) hours of making an independent expenditure supporting or opposing a measure, the person making the expenditure must certify to the registry of election finance that the person has not knowingly or willfully accepted funds aggregating in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) from prohibitedsources within the four-year period immediately preceding the date the expenditure ismade and that it will not do so through the remainder of the calendar year in which themeasure will appear on the ballot.
A political campaign committee created to support or oppose a measure, and a person who makes an independent expenditure in support of or in opposition to a political campaign committee created to support or oppose a measure, shall keep records of any contribution or expenditure and retain such records for at least two (2)years after the date of the election to which the records refer.
A foreign national shall not direct, dictate, control, or directly or indirectly participate in the decision-making process of any person with regard to that person's activities to influence a measure, such as decisions concerning the making of contributions or expenditures to influence a measure. A foreign national shall not solicit, directly or indirectly, the making of a donation, contribution, or expenditure by another person to influence a measure.
For more information on the application and enforcement of this Public Chapter, please contact William Young at william.young@tn.gov.
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