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State lawmakers who contributed to a union leader's bid for a National Education Association board seat must seek a full refund, after the Maryland Attorney General's Office last week deemed it improper for elected officials to transfer money from their campaign accounts to individuals running for union office.

Assistant Attorney General Sandra Brantley issued the opinion Jan. 14 that Bonnie Cullison, president of the county teachers union who is seeking an at-large seat on the NEA's executive committee, must return the money.

Retired teacher and union official Del. Charles E. Barkley had contributed $1,000 to Cullison from his campaign account. Following the ruling, Barkley (D-Dist. 39) of Germantown still planned to contribute from his personal account "as soon as I get some extra money," he said.

His personal contribution will "probably not" be as much as the campaign contribution, he said.

Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg said he gave $250 from his campaign fund to Cullison. This week, Barve said he still planned to contribute roughly $250 to Cullison's NEA candidacy, but from his personal finances. He is waiting until he receives his income tax refund, he said.

Sen. Nancy J. King contributed about $250.

"If I couldn't do it with my campaign funds, then I can't do it," King (D-Dist. 39) of Montgomery Village said Monday. "The economy is not such that I can afford to do that right now."

Cullison's bid for the NEA post might be beneficial to the state, but campaign finance rules do not recognize a person running for union office as a candidate; therefore, contributing to her campaign is not allowed, Brantley said in her opinion.

Lawmakers who already transferred funds from their campaign accounts to Cullison's would have to report the transactions on their annual campaign finance reports, which are due today, said Jared DeMarinis, candidacy and campaign finance director for the state Board of Elections.

Lawmakers still have the option of contributing from their personal bank accounts.

Brantley's opinion was offered as advice to the state elections board after officials requested clarification two weeks ago.

"There must be a sufficient nexus between the official's own candidacy and the expenditure," Brantley wrote. "Where the expenditure is simply to another individual running for a national union position, the nexus to the official's candidacy is too far removed to be an allowable expenditure."

The Gazette sought clarification on the same issue after some state lawmakers privately complained about the contributions.

Cullison, 54, said last week that she is "going to abide by the rules" and return the money she received from state lawmakers.

That amount was not readily available, and there is no timetable on returning the money, Cullison said. Brantley's opinion did not set a timetable for Cullison to return the lawmakers' money.

Lawmakers who told The Gazette of their contributions were issued a letter from the Attorney General's Office saying they had to seek a full refund from Cullison.

The lawmakers "were not the basis for my campaign funding," Cullison said. "This is definitely a grass-roots effort."

Following the state opinion, she said she plans to solicit campaign contributions from community members, the 3.2 million NEA members and lawmakers fro m other states.