NEWS

Ex-lobbyist paid for private plane for Beth Harwell, Karl Dean

Dave Boucher, and Joel Ebert
The Tennessean

A prominent voucher advocate who previously registered as a Tennessee lobbyist paid for a private plane in November 2015 to take House Speaker Beth Harwell, former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and others to go to North Carolina for the day to tour a private school.

House Speaker Beth Harwel, R-Nashville, and former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, a Democrat, went on a 2015 day trip to North Carolina paid for by a former Tennessee lobbyist. The trip was in order to visit a private school, but a Harwell spokeswoman said it's the type of expense lawmakers should be required to disclose.

Dean, a Nashville Democrat, and Kara Owen, spokeswoman for Harwell, a Nashville Republican, confirmed the two leaders went on the trip. Lee Barfield, a well-known local attorney, former lobbyist and voucher advocate, said he organized the trip and paid for the twin-engine propeller plane the group used. Barfield also said House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick and others were on the trip.

House Ethics Committee Chairman Steve McDaniel said he went on a different trip with Barfield in September 2015 to the same school in North Carolina. Rep. Charles Sargent, R-Franklin, and then-Rep. Mike Harrison said they also went on that trip.

State campaign and ethics laws have loopholes that allow most people to pay for trips and other gifts for lawmakers to keep them from the public. Owen said this is the type of trip Harwell says lawmakers should be required to disclose. McCormick also said lawmakers should be required to report such trips.

"The speaker maintains her position that full disclosure and transparency is best for the public, and she, along with others who have expressed support, intend to make improvements to the law," Owen said in an email.

The Tennessean recently detailed previous trips taken by lawmakers that were paid for by politicos. In 2011, wealthy GOP donor Andy Miller paid for six lawmakers to visit Europe in order to learn about "radical Islam." In 2014, voucher advocate Mark Gill allowed five lawmakers — including the recently expelled Jeremy Durham — to stay at his Alabama seaside condominium, organizing the trip to watch the movie "A Man for All Seasons" and paying for deep sea fishing.

Voucher advocate hosted Tennessee lawmakers at seaside condo

Right now, state law only bans gifts from registered lobbyists, and people only need to register with the state if they are paid to lobby. Gill is on the board of directors for the Tennessee Federation for Children, a pro-voucher advocacy group, but he says he is not paid by the group and therefore doesn't meet the legal definition of a lobbyist.

Barfield is on the board of directors for the American Federation for Children, the national arm of the same pro-voucher advocacy group. He has registered as a lobbyist in the past, for clients including Cracker Barrel, the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform and others. However, he was not registered as a lobbyist at the time he paid for Harwell and Dean to go on the trip, according to state documents.

"I’m just a citizen. This was in 2015. My understanding of the law, and the rules at the time, is that as a citizen, I am permitted to take these officials if they want to go on a fact-finding trip," Barfield told The Tennessean on Tuesday.

There is no ban on private citizens giving to lawmakers, and no requirement those lawmakers disclose the gifts. Barfield said he didn't remember how much the trip cost, but said he thought it was important for the lawmakers to see the school in North Carolina because it has a funding mechanism he considers as visionary.

Harwell recently told The Tennessean she would prefer lawmakers don't go on trips like the European and Alabama jaunts. But she said, "If they're going to, it needs to be disclosed."

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Everyone who went to North Carolina with Barfield said the trips were informational and solely focused on learning more about the schools.

"This was not recreational in nature — neither the speaker nor the mayor would have participated if it were," Owen said.

Dean said the trip took place on Nov. 4. A small group of people flew to Raleigh in the morning to tour a private school, called Thales Academy, and returned to Nashville that afternoon. The school was founded by a man who also operates charters in North Carolina. Barfield said he read about the school and its funding, decided the founders were "able to build a new mouse trap for such a seemingly reasonable sum of money" and wanted Tennessee policymakers to consider such an option for the state.

A few students attend the private school on vouchers. Vouchers, or "opportunity scholarships" as advocates call them, are a controversial educational policy that allows students to use public funds to pay for a private education. They're still not allowed in Tennessee, but they're supported by Gov. Bill Haslam and many other Republicans.

Dean, a well-known public charter school advocate, said he respects Barfield but the trip "didn't alter my opinion at the end of the day," and he still opposes charter schools run by for-profit companies and vouchers.

Noting that he was no longer mayor when he visited the school, Dean said his trip with Harwell wasn't analogous to the trip the five lawmakers took to Alabama. ​

"For me, it was a day trip where it made sense to see the school. You go, you see them and you come back. That's all we did. We didn’t do anything else," Dean said, adding he went on the trip because Barfield invited him.

It's hard to track campaign investments in Tennessee

McCormick said the day-trip to North Carolina was "not a social event" and was an educational opportunity.

Since returning from the trip, McCormick said Barfield has not contacted him about proposing any legislation. When asked about potential criticism for allowing Barfield to cover the cost of the trip, McCormick said, "A one day trip to Raleigh, North Carolina is not really high on my bucket list."

Like Harwell and others, McCormick said the legislature should consider requiring disclosure of any trips "like this."

"I think it would be a good idea to have full disclosure of trips that are paid for even if they're not lobbyists, especially if they have any kind of interest in legislation or public policy," McCormick said. "If I were just a regular guy on the street I don't think I'd get an offer to have an all-expenses paid trip to Europe so I think my constituents ought to know about it or have the ability to find out about it."

McDaniel said their trip happened Sept. 15, and the schedule appears to mirror that of the Dean and Harwell trip. Harrison and Sargent agreed it was a quick, informational trip.

Noting he took a day off of his personal job to go on the trip, Sargent said he wouldn't mind reporting a venture like this in the future.

"If people want me to disclose it, I‘ll disclose it. I have no problem with it," Sargent said.

Although Barfield, Gill and Miller are not registered lobbyists and therefore are not prohibited from paying for lawmakers' expenses, McCormick said legislators could consider looking at changes to the rules regarding lobbyists to include anyone who "visits legislators on a regular basis."

"I think those rules ought to be constantly under review and if we make an error it ought to be on the side of calling someone a lobbyist, including people who work for various governments," McCormick said.

Barfield paying for the Harwell trip was first referenced by "Rocky Top Politics," a conservative blog that regularly launches anonymous attacks on on the speaker, the rest of House leadership and many others. Owen said Harwell has not gone on any similar trips while she has been speaker.

House Caucus Chairman Glen Casada, R-Franklin, has echoed Harwell's call for updating reporting requirements on trips. Other lawmakers, like Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden — who went on the Alabama trip — said reporting should not be necessary.

The rules on reporting or allowing such trips vary across the country, Barfield said, noting that it's up to him to follow the law, not write it.

"If you look at these rules around the country, the states have different rules about this, and they are all over the ballpark. Some states allow this, some don’t. Some want disclosure, some don’t," Barfield said.

"That is up to the legislature to make the rules, and it’s up to the citizens to follow the rules."

Reporter Joey Garrison contributed to this report. 

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.Reach Joel Ebert at 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @Joelebert29