Business Discussed At Gov. Brownback Dinners

An email from the chief of staff for Gov. Sam Brownback’s wife said the purpose of the governor’s private dinner meetings with Republican legislators was, in part, to discuss business.

The Shawnee County District Attorney is investigating seven Republican-only dinners at the governor’s mansion 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 emailed RSVPs obtained through an open records request, there’s one in which Rebecca Witte, Mary Brownback’s chief of staff, told a legislator’s assistant that committee members gathering for a dinner will "spend some time discussing business."

Brownback’s office said Witte "misinformed" the lawmaker’s office, and the dinners didn’t violate the Open Meetings Act.