Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-16-106: Exceptions and defenses

(a) It is an exception to the application of §§ 39-16-102 , 39-16-104 and 39-16-105 , that the benefit involved is a fee prescribed by law to be received by a public servant or any other benefit to which the public servant is lawfully entitled. (b) It is a defense to prosecution under §§ 39-16-102 , 39-16-104 and 39-16-105 , that the benefit involved was: (1) A trivial benefit incidental to personal, professional, or business contacts, which involves no substantial risk of undermining official impartiality; or (2) A lawful contribution made for the political campaign of an elective public servant when the public servant is a candidate for nomination or election to public office. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1.

(a) It is an exception to the application of §§ 39-16-102 , 39-16-104 and 39-16-105 , that the benefit involved is a fee prescribed by law to be received by a public servant or any other benefit to which the public servant is lawfully entitled.

(b) It is a defense to prosecution under §§ 39-16-102 , 39-16-104 and 39-16-105 , that the benefit involved was: (1) A trivial benefit incidental to personal, professional, or business contacts, which involves no substantial risk of undermining official impartiality; or (2) A lawful contribution made for the political campaign of an elective public servant when the public servant is a candidate for nomination or election to public office.

(1) A trivial benefit incidental to personal, professional, or business contacts, which involves no substantial risk of undermining official impartiality; or

(2) A lawful contribution made for the political campaign of an elective public servant when the public servant is a candidate for nomination or election to public office.