A newspaper is reporting that a top aide to Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback used a private email account to give two lobbyists a preview of budget proposals weeks before they were outlined for legislators.

The Wichita Eagle reported Tuesday that Budget Director Shawn Sullivan sent the email Dec. 23 with his Yahoo account. The newspaper said it obtained a copy from a source outside the governor’s office.

Lobbyists David Kensinger and Mark Dugan were among the recipients.

Kensinger was the Republican governor’s chief of staff from January 2011 until April 2012. Dugan was the manager of Brownback’s successful re-election campaign last year.

Sullivan says he used his private email account because he was home for the Christmas holiday and wasn’t trying to skirt the Open Records Act.