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Kansas Lawmakers Consider Strengthening Open Government Law

Rex Roof/Flickr Creative Commons

Two bills before a Kansas Senate committee would make government meetings and records more accessible to the public.

Both bills were presented to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee last week.

Senate Bill 70 clarifies a law that requires government bodies to justify going into private meetings. Under the measure, the reason for the private meeting would have to be recorded in public minutes.

Senate Bill 86 reduces how much government entities can charge for public records. It caps the price per page at 25 cents. Also, the cost of the time it takes a worker to acquire a public record must be charged at the lowest hourly rate.

Committee Chairman Jacob LaTurner says the bills will be discussed further this week. In the past, LaTurner has advocated for legislation that would curb the costs of getting public records.

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Follow Abigail Beckman on Twitter @AbigailKMUW.

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