Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, was fined $1,200 earlier this month for the illegal use of state campaign money to fund his congressional campaign, marking the second time in a month that a Wisconsin legislator has been fined with improper campaigning.

The Federal Election Commission fined Schultz for using funds from Friends and Neighbors of Dale Schultz, the state campaign committee, for his federal campaign for Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District last fall. Schultz lost the election to U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse.

“Throughout my race for U.S. Congress last year I continued my practice of full disclosure and complete compliance with state and federal campaign election laws,” Schultz said in a statement. “I was grateful when the Federal Election Commission brought a bookkeeping error to the attention of my campaign.”

The state committee paid a campaign worker, Ben Lewis, for “consulting, mileage and other miscellaneous expenses … for a total of $3,291.65,” according to the Federal Election Committee.

“I believe [the Federal Election Committee’s] final report, which is a matter of public record, accurately and completely details the nature and intent of the occurrence,” Schultz said. “I accept their findings and now consider the matter closed.”

Funds for his congressional campaign should have come from the Dale Schultz for Congress federal committee.

The Wisconsin Elections Board voted Friday to fine another state legislator, Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, for an illegal loan he made to the Senate Democratic Committee.

Common Cause in Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck said these cases are similar, and while they are not “earth shattering,” they represent why it is necessary for Wisconsin to rewrite state campaign-finance laws.

“These are not isolated incidents — this happens on a regular basis,” Heck said. “It really demonstrates that there’s really no particular fear on the part of legislators to violate campaign-finance laws because the enforcement of the current laws is less than rigorous.”

The fines given to the legislators were just a slap on their wrists, Heck added.

According to Heck, state campaign-finance laws have not been significantly revised since 1977.

“Campaign-finance laws and the State Elections Board are, rather than watchdogs [protecting] the public trust, paper tigers,” Heck said. “The [State Elections Board] is vastly under-funded and understaffed and really isn’t in a position to rigorously enforce the law in a way which candidates won’t violate.”