Goodman to appeal $10,00 penalty after Ethics Commission ruled donations improperly used to pay rent to spouse on co-owned housing.

By Laylan Copelin
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, March 21, 2008Ruling for the first time in the "rent-to-own" controversy, the Texas Ethics Commission has fined a former state legislator $10,000 for using campaign donations to purchase Austin real estate by paying rent to his wife.

Toby Goodman, an Arlington lawyer who joined the Texas House of Representatives in 1991, bought an Austin condominium in 1998 and a Cedar Park house six years later with his wife, then signed his portion over to her as separate property. The loans, however, remained in both of their names.

Over 45 months, Goodman, a Republican, paid his wife $69,200 in condo rent and $8,700 in condo fees before she sold it. Over 17 months, Goodman paid her $33,000 in rent for the house and $7,580 for utilities.

Although the Ethics Commission in 1996 said lawmakers could use campaign dollars to pay rent to spouses for use of the spouse’s separate property, the commission said in this case that Goodman’s "rent" was actually being used to pay off real estate loans in the couple’s names.

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