Kansas Judicial Council to study private e-mail loophole in open records law

The Kansas Judicial Council will study a loophole in the state’s open records act that allows public officials to send private e-mail for official business.

The study was requested by Senate Vice President Jeff King, R-Independence. It was prompted by reporting by The Eagle on the use of private e-mail by Gov. Sam Brownback and his budget director, Shawn Sullivan.

The Eagle reported in January that Sullivan had used a private e-mail address to send two lobbyists with ties to Brownback a draft of the governor’s budget proposal three weeks before it was unveiled to lawmakers. It reported in May that Brownback also used a private e-mail account to conduct official business.

Christy Molzen, staff attorney with the Judicial Council, said it would study the issue of public officials using private e-mail accounts with intent of making a policy recommendation to the Legislature before the next session.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in an April opinion that private e-mails from government officials do not fall under the Kansas Open Records Act. He later recommended how the Legislature could close the loophole for private e-mail communications sent in the course of official duties.

Brownback’s office has said it does not have a policy guiding when it is appropriate for state employees to use private e-mail.

Several bills were offered to close the loophole during this year’s legislative session, but none gained traction. King, who serves as Senate Judiciary chair, indicated during the spring that he wanted to study the issue before the next session begins in January.

The Judicial Council includes King; his House counterpart, Rep. John Barker, R-Abilene; Kansas Supreme Court Justice Marla Luckert; and Wichita attorney Stephen Robison, among others.

The first meeting will be on Aug. 7 at the Kansas Judicial Center in Topeka.

This story was originally published July 11, 2015 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Kansas Judicial Council to study private e-mail loophole in open records law."