Tennessee Sen. Kenneth Yager’s recent arrest while driving a campaign-funded car on a Georgia vacation sheds renewed light on the pitfalls of lawmakers’ not-uncommon practice of dipping into campaign finances to lease or purchase vehicles.

State law doesn’t prohibit this, but does require lawmakers to keep records of vehicle use and reimburse their campaign accounts for any mileage payments they receive from the state and any personal use of the vehicle.

The Tennessee Lookout’s review of campaign finance and state mileage reimbursement records for Yager found that since he began leasing a vehicle in 2017, he has simultaneously collected more than $20,000 in mileage from the state while using his campaign account to pay for gas, maintenance, insurance and other costs typically meant to be covered by mileage reimbursements.

Reached through a Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus spokesperson Friday, Yager said the state mileage reimbursements were an “oversight” paid to him despite him marking “no mileage” on his […]