SEEMS A BIT UNUSUAL DOESN’T IT? SEPERATE CAUCUSES IS A WAY OF AVOIDING FOIA REQUESTS???
By: By JOHN HANNA
Updated: January 14, 2020 - 3:23 PM
TOPEKA, Kan. — (AP) — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is giving Kansas legislators extraordinary private briefings about undisclosed security issues.
Kansas House members boarded National Guard buses Tuesday for a briefing at a former Air Force base south of Topeka involving DHS and arranged by Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office. Democrats had a separate briefing first, followed by Republicans.
Reporters and staffers were not allowed on the buses before they left the Statehouse. Deputy Attorney General Jay Scott Emler, a former state Senate majority leader, said in a letter Tuesday to the Kansas House speaker that the briefings should be given in closed party caucuses, which are allowed under the state’s open meetings law.
Emler’s letter said only that the briefings concerned issues that legislators “may encounter in the course of their official duties.” Lawmakers knew little about the content ahead of time...snip..
© 2020 Copyright 2020 The Associated Press.
https://www.wpxi.com/news/politics/dhs-gives-kansas/4YKPCAYTLPOZWOZGR62M7QFSC4/
That is wild. I did check some local news outlets and they are reporting this too. One local TV station said this was routine but one lawmaker commented in his 40+ years in the Kansas legislature, he's never seen anything like this. Also unusual was briefing the dems and reps separately. TBD. This is my state so thanks for the heads up.
CGato