Members of the Kansas House have rejected a proposal that would have required all bills to include the name of the lawmaker who introduced it. Currently, bills are sometimes submitted without a sponsor's name attached. Democratic Representative Jim Ward said knowing the author of each bill would increase transparency.
“We have had bills that were introduced in secret, that we did not know where they came from,” Ward says.
Republican Blaine Finch argued against the proposal.
“I think that the real merit of any bill is the idea contained in it, and not necessarily the person who brings it,” Finch says.
The House did approve another proposal from Representative Ward that says any bill that is gutted and changed will have the original author’s name removed.
