Kansas Senate rejects amendment closing e-mail loophole

The Kansas Senate voted down an amendment that would have closed a loophole allowing state officials to conduct public business on private e-mails without scrutiny.

The Senate was reviewing House Bill 2023, which renews exemptions to the Kansas Open Records Act.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, offered an amendment that would have made private e-mails from public officials dealing with public business subject to KORA. E-mails on private matters would not be subject to KORA.

The legislation is a response to an Eagle report earlier in the year that Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director, Shawn Sullivan, had e-mailed a draft of the state’s budget to several administration officials and two lobbyists using private e-mail.

The amendment failed 6-32, with every Republican lawmaker voting against it.

Hensley noted that the Kansas Republican Party has been heavily critical of Hillary Clinton over her use of private e-mail as U.S. secretary of state. In a news release, he accused GOP lawmakers of being hypocritical and “making it so Governor Brownback and allies can continue to conduct official state business using their private emails without any public transparency.”

Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, noted last week that there were privacy concerns in opening up officials’ private e-mail for scrutiny.

The overall bill was approved by the Senate.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Kansas Senate rejects amendment closing e-mail loophole."