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Minutes for HB2562 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Creating the Kansas transparency act.
Minutes Content for Wed, Feb 7, 2018
Chairperson Barker opened the hearing on HB2562. Jason Long, Revisor, provided an overview of the bill (Attachment 1). Chairperson Barker stated that there will be an amendment removing the requirement of a 2/3 vote of the body to continue with a hearing if there is an equipment failure. It's his opinion that a committee meeting should continue even if the live-streaming fails.
Chairperson Barker recognized Representative John Whitmer as a proponent of the bill (Attachment 2). This bill is designed to bring greater transparency to the legislative process by providing for live-streaming of committee hearings and the general sessions of both chambers. It further requires that all recordings be archived for a minimum of two years. In response to a question by Representative Houser, Representative Whitmer stated that all of the rooms are wired for audio, but they do not all are wired for video. Representative Houser requested a list of the rooms that are wired for both. Additional questions were asked by Representatives Jacobs, Lusk, Weber, Clayton, and Smith. Representative Weber stated that he feels the archiving should be on a permanent basis and not just for two years. He requested information from the staff on how much that would cost.
Denidra Herbert testified as a proponent on HB2562 (Attachment 3).
Chairperson Barker noted that there was written proponent testimony on HB2562 from Representative Clayton (Attachment 4), Ron Keefover of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government (Attachment 5), Kent Cornish of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (Attachment 6), and Doug Anstaett of the Kansas Press Association (Attachment 7).
Chairperson Barker asked if there were any other proponents, opponents or neutrals who wanted to testify on HB2562. Seeing none, he closed the hearing.
