Two Tampa Bay area legislators were fined by the Florida Elections Commission for violating election law in their campaigns.

Sen. Charlie Justice, D-St. Petersburg, has to pay $1,000 after the FEC found that he violated the $500 limit on donations from a single company in each election. An investigation showed his campaign accepted two $500 checks from Humana before the 2006 primary. The campaign disputed another complaint that it willingly accepted contributions beyond the limit from Plumbers Local Union #519 PAC. The commission agreed and did not fine Justice on that count.

"We cooperated with the commission," Justice said, adding he's already paid the fine. "There was a mistake."

Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, was fined $750 after a complaint that he published an ad for a fundraiser that didn't include a disclaimer. State law requires that advertisements say that the purchase of tickets or contributions made at the fundraiser were contributions to the campaign. The complaint also alleges that his political advertisements didn't include a disclaimer saying that the ads were paid for by his campaign. The commission noted that it considers the allegation a minor violation.

-- Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer