Grading State Disclosure 2008 Logo Graphic

T e n n e s s e e

Honor
Grade
Rank
B
13


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Subcategories
Grade
Rank
Campaign Disclosure Law
B
16
Electronic Filing Program
A
18
Disclosure Content Accessibility
B+
17
Online Contextual & Technical Usability
C+
19
Improved

Grading Process green cube Subcategory Weighting green cube Methodology green cube Glossary

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The State of Disclosure in Tennessee

Tennessee earned a B, ranked 13th in 2008, and was the most improved state overall since 2003, when Tennessee earned an F and ranked 46th. With significant enhancements made to the state’s disclosure site, Tennessee also made strong gains in both the accessibility and usability categories since 2007.

A closer examination of Tennessee’s disclosure law in 2008 resulted in scoring revisions, causing the state’s grade to increase to a B from a C in 2007. Major reforms to Tennessee’s disclosure law in 2006 earned the state the distinction as the most improved state in the law category since 2003. Candidates must itemize contributions over $100, including occupation and employer data, and last-minute contributions must be disclosed before Election Day. Candidates must also report details of expenses over $100, including subvendor data and accrued expenditures. Independent expenditures are also disclosed and reports show the name of the candidate benefiting from the expenditure. Tennessee earned an A again in 2008 for its electronic filing program, which is mandatory for all statewide and legislative candidates who raise or spend $1,000. The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance (TREF) helps candidates meet the disclosure requirements through its newly updated filing system by offering individual and classroom trainings in addition to excellent online filer resources.

Tennessee improved to a B+ and 17th in 2008, up from a D and 32nd place in 2007, and was also the most improved state in the Disclosure Content Accessibility category since failing in 2003. The TREF’s contributions database was improved with new fields for searching by the employer and zip code of donors, as well as by contribution amount. The TREF also debuted an online, searchable database of campaign expenditures that can be searched by vendor name and transaction amount. The databases contain both electronically-filed reports and paper-filed reports that have been data-entered by TREF staff. Along with the additional search options, site visitors can now sort database search results online or download the data for offline analysis.

Tennessee’s grade in the Online Contextual and Technical Usability category rose from a D+ in 2007 to a C+ this year. The higher usability grade came mostly due to the redesign of TREF’s web site as the public can now view a simple index of each candidate’s reports that includes clearly-labeled amended reports. Tennessee performed slightly better on the 2008 usability test than in 2007, though testers still rated their overall experiences on the site as below average. However, since the test was conducted, additional improvements have been made: “Search Instructions” and “Search FAQs” have been added and provide details about the site’s contents and how to access specific data. The TREF provides excellent contextual information for site visitors, such as overviews of campaign finance trends, detailed candidate lists, and information about the state’s campaign finance rules and regulations.

Quick Fix: Expand the options within the databases to allow searches by expenditure purpose and by a specific transaction date.

Editor’s Pick: Database search results can be sorted, downloaded, and customized to include or exclude details based on the user’s research needs. View image View image

Disclosure Agency: Tennessee Registry of Election Finance
Disclosure Web Site:
http://www.state.tn.us/tref

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First published September 17, 2008
| Last updated September 17 2008
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Campaign Disclosure Project. All rights reserved.