Rep. Kino Flores
/ AP Photo
MCALLEN, TEXAS (AP) -- A South Texas legislator under investigation for his air travel and land holdings has been fined by the Texas Ethics Commission for improper accounting on campaign reports.
State Rep. Kino Flores, a Democrat from Palmview, said today he had already paid the $1,100 fine from campaign funds. The fine is unrelated to the investigation by Travis County prosecutors.
The commission released a finding earlier this month that said there was evidence to show Flores improperly registered reimbursement payments to staffers for things such as a parade float and "Christmas party music." The commission report says that the payments totaled more than $7,700 in campaign reports filed in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The commission also fined another South Texas legislator for not reporting key identifying information for some campaign contributors. Rep. Rene Oliveira, a Democrat from Brownsville, left out the occupations and employers of several contributors who gave him $500 or more in 2006 and for the 2008 Democratic primary. He was fined $3,000.
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