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Minutes for HB2134 - Committee on Judiciary
Short Title
Amending the Kansas open records act regarding charges for records in the state executive branch and other public agencies other than the state legislative and judicial branches, prohibiting charges for electronic copies of records and for determining whether a record exists and limiting charges for employee time required to make records available.
Minutes Content for Mon, Mar 3, 2025
Chairwoman Warren opened the hearing on HB2134
Natalie Scott, Revisor's Office, provided an overview of the bill and stood for questions. (Attachment15)
Matthew Bingesser, Administrative Counsel, Office of the Attorney General, provided testimony in support of the bill. He said this bill represents a thoughtful and balanced approach to improving Kansas' open records law by enhancing public access to government records while ensuring that public agencies operate efficiently and fairly in responding to requests. (Attachment) 16
John Goodyear, General Counsel, League of Kansas Municipalities provided testimony supporting the bill. He stated they support the transparencies guaranteed by the Open Records Act. They support continued ability of local governments to assess reasonable fees for the provision of record and support current provision in law that limit fees. (Attachment 17)
Dave Trabert, Chief Executive Officer, Kansas Policy Institute, supports the bill. The amendment to the original bill was jointly proposed by Kansas Policy Institute (Attachment 18)
Proponent, written only testimony was submitted by the following:
- Amanda Stanley, City Attorney, City of Topeka (Attachment 19)
- Ed Klumpp, Kansas Sheriffs' Association; Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police (Attachment 20)
- Jay Hall, Deputy Director and General Counsel, Kansas Association of Counties (Attachment 21)
- Wendy Weiss, behalf of Kansas Register of Deeds Association (Attachment 22)
Proponent conferees stood for questions.
Clay Barker, General Counsel, Deputy Secretary of State, presented neutral testimony on the bill. He stated that most KORA requests to government agencies are addressed promptly at a reasonable cost. His testimony provides several other examples of requests that are outside the normal request. (Attachment 23)
Neutral, written only testimony was submitted by Michael Koss, City Attorney, City of Overland Park (Attachment 24)
Neutral conferees stood for questions.
No further conferees.
Chairwoman Warren closed the hearing on HB2134.
