Kansas Turnpike Authority’s purchase of table at Gov. Sam Brownback’s inaugural is questioned

Freshly elected to a second term, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback turned to an array of financial heavyweights to bankroll his inaugural.

Koch Industries. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. AT&T. United Healthcare Services. Each kicked in $2,000.

But buried deep among the 217 contributors was a quasi-state agency that spent $1,200 for a table at the governor’s inaugural festivities, records show.

At a time when the state faced a mounting deficit following deep income tax cuts, the agency that oversees 240 miles of toll roads bought a table for some of its top staffers to attend the governor’s inaugural ball.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority was the only state-related agency listed on the finance report detailing $300,000 in contributions to Brownback’s inaugural. The agency gets 95 percent of its funding from tolls paid on the turnpike. It gets the balance from such things as leases at its service areas.

The turnpike is overseen by five board members, including the chairs of the House and Senate transportation committees, the state transportation secretary and two members appointed by the governor.

Two years ago, the Legislature partially merged the turnpike authority with the state transportation department. The move gave the transportation secretary oversight of the turnpike authority while keeping a seat on the turnpike board.

A spokeswoman for the turnpike authority said it was a “legitimate business expense” to mingle with political players at the Capitol and talk over issues the agency would face in the Legislature.

Turnpike authority spokeswoman Rachel Bell said the authority is getting more scrutiny these days, especially with efforts to merge the agency with the Kansas Department of Transportation in recent years.

Agency officials, she said, believed it was important to attend the event to urge lawmakers, among other things, not to dip into toll revenues to fund other parts of state government.

“We feel strongly that there was a good business reason for us to be there,” Bell said. “We wanted to be able to be in front of the policymakers.”

Among those attending the ball at turnpike authority expense were its chief executive, its general counsel, its director of partnerships and innovations, and a pair of lobbyists. Bell also attended the event.

Bell said Wednesday that the turnpike only picked up $900 of the inaugural expenses after it was reimbursed for two spouses who attended the event. It was unclear when those reimbursements were made.

Although state law doesn’t appear to prohibit the authority from writing a check to the governor’s inaugural, some lawmakers said it didn’t send a good message.

Some lawmakers questioned just how much legislative business would be discussed at the inaugural ball.

“You don’t go to the inaugural ball to talk about issues,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka. “You go to the inaugural ball to socialize.”

Republican Rep. Melissa Rooker of Fairway, who serves on the transportation budget committee, shared a similar view. She called the decision to spend money on the inaugural ball an “odd choice.”

“This is not a necessary expense and we’re operating as a state in an environment of scarcity,” Rooker said.

Republican Sen. Jim Denning of Overland Park said that “if I was managing KTA, I certainly would not have done that.”

Brownback’s office did not return an email and a phone call seeking comment on the turnpike’s contribution.

In 2006, the publicly funded Washburn University paid $2,000 to Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ inauguration. However, the school didn’t have any paperwork explaining the contribution because it was so long ago.

John Milburn, spokesman for the state Department of Administration, said he was not aware of any law barring use of public money for the inaugural activities. He pointed out that state law only bars public subsidies for activities that advocate for the election of candidates.

State finance reports showed that other state officials contributed to the event, including Labor Secretary Lana Gordon and Commerce Secretary Pat George, as well as the executive director and the deputy executive director of the Kansas Lottery Commission.

All four paid their own way to the inaugural ball, according to officials for those agencies. Meanwhile, officials from other state agencies, including the departments of revenue, transportation and social services, also said they didn’t purchase tickets.

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Kansas Turnpike Authority’s purchase of table at Gov. Sam Brownback’s inaugural is questioned."