AUSTIN, Texas - A legislative advisory board has found that the Texas Ethics Commission punishes minor infractions and unduly stigmatizes politicians for minor mistakes.

The Sunset Advisory Commission reviews state agencies and recommends how to improve them. On Tuesday the Texas lawmakers on the sunset board released their report on the ethics commission.

The legislators found that the current rules are too often used as tools to politically damage the reputation of an opponent for minor errors in their ethics reports. The review also found that the commission's technology has not kept up with the times.

In terms of enforcement, the board also recommended separating the investigative and judgment functions of the commission to make it fairer.

The lawmakers also pointed out the commission could do more in terms of ethics enforcement.