TOPEKA — The chair of the Kansas Senate Committee on Government Efficiency restricted access to public submissions to its suggestion portal until after the 2025 legislative session, despite state law that requires public records be made available as soon as possible.

The committee’s online portal invites members of the public to submit “ideas on how state government can better serve the residents of Kansas.” The chair of the committee, Wichita Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, has granted access to certain lawmakers, but has said she won’t fulfill Kansas Reflector’s request for the records until April 9.

Ron Keefover, a former president of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government, said based on his 25 years of experience working with open government issues, especially the Kansas Open Records Act, the submission records should be released immediately. 

“If they are being made available to some, they should be made available to everyone,” he said.

A public invitation to submit feedback has been featured on the Legislature’s homepage since the portal’s launch on Jan. 31. Users can email the committee or offer comments through an online form, which requires users to check a box that acknowledges the records are subject to KORA.  

Legislative leadership created the Senate committee in the likeness of billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s federal Department of Government Efficiency, which is not actually a governmental department because it wasn’t formed by an act of Congress. 

The federal department, known as DOGE, and Kansas’ Senate committee, known as COGE, wield detectable influence over potential legislation and changes to government services. DOGE has been involved in litigation because of its lack of compliance with federal public records law, known as the Freedom of Information Act. 

COGE has sponsored 11 bills this session, many of which target public assistance programs or public employees. The nine-member committee met more than 20 times since the session’s Jan. 13 start date, introducing, hearing and debating bills and receiving informational presentations from state officials.

In Senate President Ty Masterson’s initial announcement of the committee’s formation, which he said was meant to closely align with DOGE, he said the committee “will explore ways to restructure and reform state government to reduce spending and increase government efficiency.” 

Erickson has promised the committee will continue to meet after the legislative session. She said she intends to create a spreadsheet containing an organized overview of the submissions that could be available for distribution. She also said the submissions will inform the topics the committee intends to discuss.

Kansas Reflector submitted a public records request for the submissions to the portal with the intention of reporting on how the public’s suggestions to improve government compare with the committee’s actions and rhetoric. Erickson, the custodian of the records, recognized the request on Feb. 28, three weeks after Kansas Reflector’s initial inquiry. Erickson first denied access to the records until May 1, then moved the date to April 9, a week and a half after the anticipated March 28 end date of the 2025 legislative session.

“The plan has been, and always has been, to gather that information that’s submitted on the portal and categorize it during session, and then this committee would take those submissions up during the interim,” she said during a March 5 committee meeting.

Also during that meeting, she said she intends to comply with the request — “there’s no question about it,” she added.

Topeka Democrat Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a committee member, submitted a public records request of his own during a March 6 committee meeting, citing concerns for a lack of transparency. The day before, Schmidt, who declined to comment for this story, said he hoped committee members could have access to the submissions so they have ample time to consider them during the session.

According to a letter obtained by Kansas Reflector, Erickson granted Schmidt immediate access as early as March 17 while the records “are still in the process of being reviewed.” Kansas Reflector was not offered the same access. 

Jackie Sayers, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats, confirmed that Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, of Lenexa, had read-only access to the submissions. She does not sit on the Committee on Government Efficiency.

Erickson did not respond to a request for comment, which included a question as to why she provided different responses to two requests seeking the same records.

Erickson previously told Kansas Reflector the cause for delay was because of sensitive information being included in submissions to COGE. Kansas public records law allows for redactions of sensitive personal information, such as home addresses or Social Security numbers.

Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, expressed concern during the May 5 COGE meeting that the amount of submissions requested could become “voluminous.”

“I’m sure some of the suggestions may or may not even be viable,” Thompson said. “My concern is, over time, this could be turning into a fishing expedition. I don’t know for what or for why.” 

He said he understood the importance of complying with KORA.

“You know we’re trying to be transparent about government,” he said. “We’re trying to provide good information, good government, good ways to become efficient. And I hope somebody’s not doing this just to bog us down.”

While journalists, and in this case lawmakers, can request records that are in the public interest, members of the public are entitled and able to access records, too.

March 16 marked the beginning of Sunshine Week, a weeklong annual event that educates on the public’s right to civic information and brings awareness to open government. Public records laws like KORA and the federal Freedom of Information Act are some of the only tools to combat government secrecy.

The term Sunshine Week has several origins. One of them is from a famous line from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis: “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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