Former Rep. Toby Goodman, R-Arlington, was fined $10,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission for using campaign funds to pay rent to his wife for a house in Cedar Hill, where the couple stayed while Goodman was doing legislative work in Austin.

That's allowed if the officeholder doesn't own the property, if the rent is at market rates, and if there's no benefit to the officeholder. But in Goodman's case, the commission said the rent was higher than market. And while Goodman's wife was the sole owner of the house, he and she were both on the mortgage. Because of that, he was a beneficiary of the payments. And because the rent was higher than other houses nearby, "there is credible evidence that the payments constituted a conversion of political contributions to personal use."

When this came up during the 2006 election cycle, Goodman said he was relying on a TEC advisory opinion answering questions from Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth. The agency said it's legal to rent from a spouse if the officeholder has no interest in the property and doesn't stand to benefit. Several lawmakers, including Brimer, had such arrangements at the time.