GOP Lawmaker Uncomfortable with Private Meeting

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A Republican Kansas House member says he was
uncomfortable with a private meeting he and other lawmakers had in
January with GOP Gov. Sam Brownback at his official residence.
Rep. Charles Roth, of Salina, said Tuesday he thinks the Jan. 9
session he attended violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act because a
majority of the House Pensions and Benefits Committee was there.
Roth said the lawmakers heard a pep talk from Brownback urging
them to pass pensions legislation.
It was the first of seven meetings Brownback had with GOP
members of 13 legislative committees in January. Brownback
spokeswoman Sherriene (SHUH’-reen) Jones-Sontag said he remains
confident that the law wasn’t violated.
Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor, a Democrat, is
investigating the legality of the meetings.