Public notice bill sent to different House committee

For reasons known only to the Kansas House leadership, HB 2237, a bill that would give municipalities the option to run public notices in a newspaper or on a website was transferred this week from Local Government to Appropriations and then to Commerce, Labor and Economic Development.

"The flight path of this bill has been confusing," said Rich Gannon, director of governmental affairs for the Kansas Press Association. "Very few legislators seem to know why or how these things work and no one wants to take credit or blame."

The original proponent of the bill, Rep. J.R. Claeys of Salina, is on the Commerce committee, which might (or might not) explain why it ended up there.

The fate of a four-person Local Government subcommittee chaired by Rep. Virgil Peck appears to be in limbo since that committee no longer has the bill on its agenda.

"It's almost like playing a game of hide and seek," said Doug Anstaett, KPA executive director. "We have to keep looking even though there may be nothing to find. We will not let our guard down, however. This is too important an issue for our newspapers.

Gannon suggested members keep in touch with their legislators and keep reiterating the dire consequences to governmental transparency should these notices not appear in newspapers, coupled with the threat to newspapers if that revenue is no longer available.

'Keep up the good work when the legislators come home for the weekend," he said. "You are making a difference. But we can't let up now."