Three legislative bills threaten KOMA, public notice
Three bills of particular interest to Kansas newspapers will survive legislative turnaround this week.
Two of the bills are designed to redefine a meeting and the other would eliminate the publication of constitutional amendments in Kansas newspapers. Now, constitutional amendments are printed for three consecutive weeks by one newspaper in each county.
The Kansas Press Association opposes all three bills.
House Bill 2336 and Senate Bill 200 use different routes to rework the definition of a meeting under KOMA. Neither has had a hearing scheduled, but both can hang around for the entire session under the rules of the Legislature.
HB 2336 would allow the majority of a committee to meet privately if the gathering didn't result in "deliberation" on a topic. Now, KOMA requires that the public be notified when a majority "discusses" the business of the body, a much lower threshold.
SB 200 would go even farther. It would allow discussions where the "central purpose" was a "social gathering, convention, workshop, press conference, training or educational programs or ceremonial, religious or civic events."
In other words, a wedding could be the "central purpose" that pulled a majority of a public body together in one place, but if they met that wouldn't constitute a meeting.
"These bills would gouge a huge hole in KOMA and basically endorse conversations of public officials in all kinds of settings outside the usual meeting room," said Doug Anstaett, executive director of KPA. "Not only would this 'legalize' last year's Cedar Crest meetings; it would allow any public official anywhere to use the cover of a social event to discuss public business. These are horrible ideas."
Another bill, HB 2364, would eliminate the requirement of newspaper publication of constitutional amendments and replace them with publication on the Secretary of State's website and the official State of Kansas website. Under the bill, newspapers would instead receive a press release.
Once again, all three bills are attached for your review. Please do what you can to tell your local legislators to oppose these attacks on open government.
"We have found that local officials, when asked specifically about these bills, tell their hometown newspapers they oppose them," Anstaett said. "That makes it critical for every newspaper to ask the question and get a straight 'yes' or 'no' answer from your legislator and to hold them to it."