A liberal advocacy group has filed an ethics complaint against state Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, alleging he violated a state law by authoring legislation to financially benefit his wife.

The complaint, filed Friday by One Wisconsin Now with the state's Government Accountability Board, says Olsen inserted language in a bill that would allow a nonprofit headed by his wife to establish a charter school, and thus qualify for additional state funding.

Olsen co-sponsored a bill that would allow cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs) to establish independent charter schools. CESAs are regional nonprofits created by the Legislature to provide educational services to school districts. Olsen's wife, Joan Wade, is the administrator of CESA 6, which serves east-central Wisconsin.

Olsen, who faces a recall election this summer over his support of Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill, has not responded to the complaint.

Wade on Friday called the allegation "ridiculous." "It doesn't directly benefit me," she said. "It directly benefits the school districts we work with."