Several Kansas legislators say Gov. Sam Brownback raised issues such as tax cuts and water policy in private meetings with them at his official residence.
But their accounts of the meetings differed Monday.
Some Republican legislators who attended one or more of the gatherings with the GOP governor described them as purely social events.
But several lawmakers interviewed by The Associated Press said Brownback made remarks about substantive issues.
Brownback had seven meetings in January for Republicans on 13 legislative committees. He planned gathering planned Monday evening for a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor is investigating whether the gatherings violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act. Brownback spokeswoman Sherriene Jones-Sontag said the administration remains confident that the gatherings did not violate the law.
Taylor directed Brownback and all legislators in writing to preserve records and electronic files that could be evidence. House Speaker Mike O'Neal called the Taylor's request unreasonably overbroad and said Taylor should have worked through legislative leaders.
O'Neal noted the state constitution protects lawmakers from facing subpoenas while in session. But the speaker said he and other lawmakers are willing to cooperate with reasonable requests for information.
Brownback has said he'll cooperate fully, but Taylor acknowledged he had not discussed an interview with the governor's staff.
The Governor’s Chief Counsel, Caleb Stegall, sent a letter to Taylor on Friday. "Please be assured that the Ofñces of Governor and Lieutenant Governor will act with diligence and in good faith to preserve all potential evidence that may be relevant to this complaint. Document retention and preservation is already standard practice in our offices and so Í do not anticipate great difficulty or inconvenience in this matter."
Included in the letter were lists of each lawmakers who attended events at Cedar Crest.
"It is true that a majority of various legislative committees were present at some of the legislative dinners in question. However, majorities of committees are routinely present together at various events during the legislative session and beyond inciuding meals, receptions, honorary events, lobbyist sponsored presentations, and so forth, Simply because the majority of a committee
is present at the same event does not give rise to a presumption of an open meetings violation and is not justifîcation for an investigation in each instance. Setting this precedent is, in my view, unjustifed and dangerous." Stegall said in the letter.
*Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
