The ethics commission dismissed the complaints on Wednesday but found that the charges were not frivolous.

Joseph Gomes, a Waimanalo attorney who brought the complaints, showed that the lawmakers had received e-mail at their offices from the Hawai'i State Teachers Association about how the union could use education reform to help Democratic candidates before last November's elections. Sakamoto and Takumi were the main forces behind an education-reform law approved by the state Legislature last session.

The teachers union had been planning forums, which were later canceled, where state education officials, lawmakers and candidates would discuss the law. Gomes, a former Republican state lawmaker, said he was disappointed in the commission's decision. "Obviously, it wasn't frivolous," he said. "It certainly was a serious matter."