Senate advances bill closing e-mail loophole in Kansas Open Records Act

The Kansas Senate gave initial passage Wednesday to a bill that would close a loophole that allows public officials to use private e-mail for official business as a way to avoid public scrutiny.

The bill, which passed by a unanimous voice vote, is a response to The Eagle’s reporting that Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director used a private e-mail address and computer to send the state’s budget to two lobbyists with ties to Brownback weeks before it was unveiled to lawmakers.

The controversy surrounding presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s exclusive use of private e-mail during her time as U.S. secretary of state has also helped drive the issue.

The bill would amend the Kansas Open Records Act so that any record created by a public official dealing with public business would be considered an open record regardless of whether it was created on a private device or e-mail account.

The change has been pushed by the Kansas Press Association and a bipartisan coalition that includes Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Republican Sen. Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat.

The bill must pass a second vote in the Senate before going to the House. The governor also would have to sign it before it became law.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Senate advances bill closing e-mail loophole in Kansas Open Records Act."