HELENA - The law used to determine that Gov. Brian Schweitzer illegally appeared in a state-produced radio announcement while a candidate last year is unconstitutionally vague and should be thrown out, a lawyer for the governor argued Friday.

Mike Meloy also said the entire ethics case against the governor has been wildly overblown. He said it's time to "bring this debacle to a close" by voiding the law.

"I don't think there's any question that the law is ambiguous and should not be enforced on the governor," he told District Judge Jeff Sherlock of Helena. "This is not Watergate. This is a simple 'thank-you-to-farmers' announcement."

Lawyers for the Montana Republican Party, which brought the ethics complaint against the governor, and the state political practices commissioner argued otherwise.

Steve Brown, representing the commissioner, said the law clearly forbids the use of "state funds" to produce ads or public-service announcements (PSAs) that feature public officials when they're a candidate for office.

Commissioner of Political Practices Dennis Unsworth ruled late last year that "state funds" includes state equipment and staff, which were used to produce the radio ads featuring Schweitzer in March 2008, shortly after the governor filed to run for re-election.

"We think it is apparent and clear that the governor understands the meaning of 'state funds,' " Brown said. "He just wants it to mean something that allows him to use state funds to produce candidate PSAs - something the state Legislature said no to."

Sherlock took the case under advisement and will rule later.

The case stems from a complaint filed by the state Republican Party in April 2008, accusing Schweitzer of illegally featuring himself in two state-produced radio announcements on "national ag month."

State staff produced the 30- and 60-second spots, in which Schweitzer talked about the importance of Montana agriculture and asked people to buy local products and thank a farmer.

The Republican Party said the spots violated a state law forbidding the use of state funds to do a PSA featuring a public official while they're a candidate.

A hearings officer hired by Unsworth said Schweitzer violated the law and recommended a $750 fine.

Unsworth agreed that the governor violated the law, but then wanted to examine whether more than one violation occurred and whether the governor should pay for the cost of the proceeding, a fine, or both.

That's when the governor filed suit in January, seeking to block the proceeding and void the law.

Meloy, a Helena attorney, said it's not clear whether "state funds" means any state money, staff or equipment or a "discreet amount of money" set aside specifically to produce PSAs. He said the law was aimed at the latter, in reaction to former state officials who used settlement funds to produce PSAs featuring themselves while they were candidates for office.

Lance Lovell, a Billings lawyer representing the Montana Republican Party, said the party should be allowed to inquire further about the extent and intent of the governor's actions.

He also said it was absurd to suggest that state funds weren't used to produce the PSAs, or that the law is unclear.

"The English language is going to cease having meaning if we're going to adopt the governor's narrow interpretation," Lovell said.

Brown also said the governor shouldn't fear further review of the issue by Unsworth. If the governor and his staff spent only a few minutes on the ads, as they say, then it's possible the fine could be less than $750, he said.