Cities and counties in Kansas oppose a southeast Kansas lawmaker’s proposal to limit what government agencies can charge for fulfilling requests for public records.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee had a hearing but took no action Tuesday on a bill from Republican Sen. Jacob LaTurner of Pittsburg.

The measure would make documents free when less than an hour of staff time went into retrieving a record and the record is 25 or fewer pages. If more than 25 pages are produced, governments could charge no more than 25 cents per page.

League of Kansas Municipalities attorney Nicole Proulx Aiken testified that the bill would erode local control and create unfunded mandates because governments might not be able recoup their costs.