Topeka ? The state ethics commission has dropped a $7,500 fine against a conservative Republican activist who spoke publicly about a complaint he filed against a state senator.

The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission’s decision Wednesday in the case of Kris Van Meteren came after an attorney general’s opinion said gag orders tied to ethics cases violated a complaining party’s First Amendment rights.

Michael Leitch, deputy attorney general, said Kansas statutes and ethics commission regulations that require confidentiality from people who submit complaints against public officials were unconstitutional.

“To the extent that the commission has imposed fines or other sanctions against those who may have violated them,” Leitch said, “we believe those fines are likewise unconstitutional.”

Van Meteren, of Topeka, filed a complaint against Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, a Thayer Republican. He questioned whether Umbarger illegally spent campaign funds for personal use.

Van Meteren is the son of Iris Van Meter, another Thayer Republican and former State Board of Education member who ran against Umbarger in the August primary. Van Meteren, a GOP consultant in Topeka, raised the issue before the election and filed the complaint with the commission in September.

In October, Umbarger repaid $4,400 to his re-election account for expenditures challenged by Van Meteren.

The list included purchase of a carport installed at the senator’s home, rental of a Topeka motel room and bills for “campaign fuel” from a gas station in Thayer.

The commission dropped the case against Umbarger and instigated a case against Van Meteren for violating confidentiality rules after he talked to an area newspaper for a story outlining Umbarger’s campaign spending.

The commission in February fined Van Meteren $5,000 for engaging in the interview and $2,500 for speaking about the same subject to the online publication Kansas Liberty.