Secretary of State - As introduced, removes the filing fee that must be paid to the secretary of state to file articles of termination of corporation existence; increases the number of days after a person ceases solicitation activities after registration with the secretary of state, from 30 to 90, that the person has to notify the secretary of state; removes the requirement that a charitable organization that ceases solicitation activity and received in excess of $1 million in gross revenue during the most recently completed fiscal year include an audited financial statement and forms required to be filed by a charitable organization with the United States internal revenue service with the organization's notice to the secretary of state that the organization ceased solicitation activities. - Amends TCA Title 48.

114th Regular Session (2025-2026) Introduced by Susan Lynn

Tennessee bill eliminates corporate dissolution fees and reduces financial reporting requirements for large nonprofits, while extending their deadline to notify the state of ceased fundraising activities.

Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

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Legislative bill overview

HB 1553 makes three administrative changes to Tennessee's Secretary of State regulations: it eliminates the filing fee for corporate termination documents, extends the deadline for charitable solicitors to notify the Secretary of State after ceasing activities from 30 to 90 days, and removes the requirement for large charitable organizations (those with over $1 million in annual revenue) to submit audited financial statements when notifying the state they've stopped fundraising.

Why is this important

These changes affect the operational costs and reporting burdens on businesses and charitable organizations. The fee elimination reduces barriers to formal corporate dissolution, while the extended notification deadline and reduced financial reporting requirements make compliance easier for large nonprofits—though this also reduces state oversight of how those organizations wound down their fundraising activities.

Potential points of contention

Reduced fiscal transparency: Removing audited financial statement requirements for high-revenue charities eliminates independent verification of how large organizations handled donor funds during dissolution, potentially weakening public accountability.

State revenue impact: Eliminating filing fees, though individually small, represents lost state revenue with unclear justification in the bill summary.

Enforcement challenges: Extending the notification window from 30 to 90 days makes it harder for the state to promptly detect fraudulent or problematic solicitation activities that should have ceased.