A coalition of Democratic-leaning advocates is raising more concerns about money raised for the 11 Republican senators who walked out of the recent Oregon legislative session.

The group filed an expanded complaint Wednesday with the Oregon Secretary of State's office, which investigates campaign finance issues. The original complaint filed July 12 raised concerns about senators using political contributions to offset expenses and fines tied to the walkout over a proposed cap-and-trade bill.

Each of the 11 senators received a combined $6,400 from two political action committees that supported the walkout.

"Not only did these eleven Republican senators collect a salary and per diem while fleeing the state, they were also rewarded for holding the legislature hostage," the complaint says, calling it "unlawful and unethical."

Those contributions came from the "Stand with Our Senators Political Action Committee" and "Encouraging the Walking Senators PAC."

For the latter political action committee, the complaint points to its origins as a GoFundMe site instead of political action committee to cover "travel expenses" and "unlawful fines."

Ultimately, the Encouraging the Walking Senators PAC received more than $37,000 that was shifted from the GoFundMe donations, according to the complaint, which has a screengrab from the site.That PAC's representative couldn't be reached for comment.

Adam Schwend, a director of the Stand with Our Senators PAC, said in a statement that the complaint is "completely without merit."

"The Stand with Our Senators PAC is committed to complying with all applicable campaign finance laws," he said.

The complaint noted that political contributions cannot be used to pay fines. Each senator who participated in the walkout was fined $3,500 by the Senate.

The complaint alleges the donations were received for the "express purpose of paying the fines and expenses" of the walkout. Senators traveled out of state during the walkout. Further, the complaint says expenses tied to the walkout — and "not doing one's job" — aren't "official duties," meaning campaign contributions cannot cover them.

"This means that the receipt and use of the $6,400 by each of the absent Senators to pay expenses is unlawful," the complaint says.

Return:GOP senators return to Oregon Capitol Saturday after walkout over cap-and-trade bill

Senate Republican Leader Herman Baertschiger Jr. said he hasn't had a chance to review the latest version of the complaint, but said he's not surprised.

"It's just pure harassment by the Democrats," the Grants Pass senator told the Statesman Journal.

He said donations from the political action committees won't go toward expenses tied to the walkout. Members agreed to pay for it out of their own pockets.

"These PAC monies will go into the next election cycle,' he said. "They won't be used to offset any of these expenses. We didn't have a lot of expenses. How much does it cost to stay away for 10 days?"

The coalition backing the complaint includes Renew Oregon, Oregon League of Conservation Voters, Pineros y Campesinos del Noroeste, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon, SEIU, Oregon Education Association and Oregon AFSCME

Ben Botkin covers Oregon state government. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. You can reach him at bbotkin@StatesmanJournal.com, 503-399-6687 or follow him on Twitter @BenBotkin1