TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) An email from the manager of the governor’s residence said the purpose of private dinner meetings with Republican legislators at the residence was, in part, to discuss business.
The Shawnee County District Attorney is investigating seven Republican-only dinners at Cedar Crest, the governor’s residence, for violations of the Kansas Open Meetings Act, which prohibits a majority of a legislative body from gathering behind closed doors to discuss business.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that among hundreds of RSVPs obtained through an open records request, there’s one in which Rebecca Witte, who manages Cedar Crest, told a legislator’s assistant that committee members gathering for a dinner will “spend some time discussing business.”
Gov. Sam Brownback’s office said Witte “misinformed” the lawmaker’s office, and the dinners didn’t violate the Open Meetings Act.
