TOPEKA — Vowing to make state government more transparent to the public, Gov. Jeff Colyer signed executive orders on Thursday aimed at increasing access to open records, open meeting information, official correspondence, and data about how well state agencies are performing.
“We want to start letting people know what’s happening in Kansas government,” he said during a news conference. “We want to respond because I think as we have more information, we can actually get things done, and that’s what this is about.”
Colyer was joined at the news conference by representatives of the Kansas Press Association, Kansas Broadcasters Association and the Kansas Sunshine Coalition, a private nonprofit organization that advocates for government transparency.
Colyer had previously announced during his address to a joint session of the Legislature Wednesday that he would be signing the orders.
The orders were seen as part of a series of steps he is taking to set a different tone for his administration compared to the administration of his predecessor, former Gov. Sam Brownback, which was often viewed as secretive with information about its activities. Read more…