Kansas Pushes Legislature Record

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas is among relatively few states in which legislators don’t provide live video or audio of at least some of their meetings to the public.

Two Republican legislators have been pushing the idea in recent years.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that lawmakers have cited the potential cost of starting video or audio streaming as a reason that the Legislature hasn’t started streaming meetings. The cheapest proposal would have cost $111,000 over two years.

But in legislative hearings, the idea has drawn no formal opposition, and supporters argue that it would make the Republican-dominated Legislature more transparent.

Republican Rep. Stephanie Clayton of Overland Park and GOP Sen. Kay Wolf of Prairie Village together have introduced five proposals during the past two years for live streaming of legislative meetings.