[JURIST] AP is reporting that Ohio Governor Bob Taft [official website] will plead no contest to charges [JURIST report] that he improperly failed to report golf outings and other gifts.

1:22 PM ET – Taft was fined $4,000 but will not serve any jail time as part of a plea agreement. When entering his plea, Taft said that he took full responsibility for his mistakes. Reuters has more.

2:13 PM ET – Taft's statement, in which he accepts responsibility for his failure to provide complete financial disclosure statements to the Ohio Ethics Commission [official website], is now available. Taft said that his office failed to establish an adequate system to monitor the value of golf outings and other social events. Read the full statement [text].