Tennessee Rep. Gino Bulso Faces Ethics Complaint Over School Book Bill

A Brentwood woman filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Gino Bulso this week, alleging the lawmaker and practicing attorney violated conflict of interest rules after he introduced legislation that could affect the outcome of a legal case in the who is currently involved.

Erica Bowton filed the complaint with the House Ethics Committee on April 15, arguing that Bulso violated House ethics rules by sponsoring House Bill 1632, which Bowton said would give Bulso a “clear legal advantage in a lawsuit in which he serves as plaintiff’s attorney.”

Bulso, R-Brentwood, called the complaint “baseless” Thursday.

Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, argues in favor of his bill during a House session at the state Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.

Bulso represents a group of parents and the conservative activist group Citizens for Renewing America in a lawsuit against the Williamson County Board of Education. The group sued the county school board over Tennessee’s library book law, arguing that they should be allowed to challenge books on shelves even if their children do not attend Williamson County schools.

Meanwhile, Bulso’s HB 1632 would allow any parent whose children are eligible to attend a local school to challenge library books. Although the bill passed the Senate, it stalled in the House and will not pass this session. Bulso previously told The Tennessean that there was no conflict between his involvement in the legal case and sponsoring a bill to change state law, even though the two would effectively achieve the same results.

Bulso said earlier this year that because the legal arguments in the lawsuit had already been presented, his legislation could not take effect on the matter.

“It is not accurate for Rep. Bulso to maintain that the proposed law would not affect Rep. Bulso’s lawsuit simply because the case has already been filed and the matter reported,” Bowton said in the ethics complaint. “As an attorney, Rep. Bulso certainly knows that supplemental briefs can be filed at any time before the court rules on a legal issue, and he would be remiss if he did not bring to the court’s attention that there was a legislative amendment to the text of the Age Appropriate Materials Act that directly addressed the ongoing issue.”

Bowton previously accused Bulso of violating House ethics rules during a heated committee meeting in January, where he testified against two of Bulso’s bills and accused Bulso of “financially benefiting from this deal.”

At the time, Bulso strongly denied the conflict of interest allegations, but Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, ultimately asked for legal clarification on the issue. After a lengthy discussion with the House Clerk’s office, the committee chair announced that “there is no declaration of violation of interest, no violation of the code of ethics, or violation of the Rules of the House.”

House Ethics Rules prohibit members from taking actions from which “the representative has reason to believe or expect that he or she will obtain a direct monetary gain or other advantage or will suffer a direct monetary loss by reason of the official activity of the representative.” , without adequate disclosure. .

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Tennessee Rep. Gino Bulso Faces Ethics Complaint Over School Book Bill

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