A Brief
History of the
Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government
Background
Organization of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government began at a meeting in Wichita on May 8, 1999. As significant as that might seem, it must be viewed as an important step in a larger and longer process that started many years before by individuals and, particularly, state media organizations that were concerned about the need to increase citizen access to government meetings and records.
Kansas, like most states, had always provided some form of limited access to public records. However, this was generally limited to records that were required by law to be kept and these records were open only to individuals who had a legal interest in them. Following earlier attempts to improve statutory access to public records and public meetings, the real success came with passage of the Open Meetings Act in 1972 and the Open Records Act in 1984.
These were excellent laws initiated by individuals who shared a concern about improving public access to government in Kansas. The Open Meetings Act declared that all meetings for the conduct of governmental affairs and the transaction of governmental business must be open to the public. The Open Records Act declared that all public records must be open for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by law and that “this act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote such a policy.”
The problem, however, was that both acts had been amended freely over the years that followed. By time the Sunshine Coalition completed the organizational process in 2000 there were 44 exemptions to the Open Records Act (five pages, single-spaced). Similarly, there were 13 exemptions to the open meetings law (13 ways a public body could close a meeting to the public). In addition, by then there were already 80 Attorney General Opinions to help “clarify” the meaning of the open meetings law and its exemptions.
Organizing the Coalition
The process for organizing an open government coalition in Kansas began in November of 1998 when Vernon Keel, professor of communication law at Wichita State University, attended a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, Keel was State Sunshine Chair (freedom of information officer) for the Kansas Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The meeting of State Sunshine Chairs he attended in Nashville was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC). Both meetings were held at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. There he met individuals from other states that had open government organizations and who encouraged him to start that process in Kansas.
When he returned from that meeting, Keel began discussions with people he knew who were concerned about the open government situation in Kansas and who would be interested in trying to organize some sort group to deal with these issues. The people he contacted included: David Furnas of the Kansas Press Association (KPA); Harriett Lange of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB); Molly McMillin, president of the Kansas Professional Chapter of SPJ; Les Anderson from the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State and a newspaper publisher; Randy Brown and others at the Wichita Eagle; Mike Merriam, legal counsel for KPA and KAB; and Mike Kautsch, law professor at the University of Kansas and former director of the William Allen While School of Journalism there. Furnas, Lange and McMillin extended the discussion with members of their respective organizations.
The first organizational meeting was held in Wichita on May 8, 1999, and featured Nancy Monson, who was executive director of NFOIC and head of the Freedom of Information Foundation in Texas. In addition to Keel, Furnas, Lange and McMillin, others attending included Peter Pitz, Rick Thames and Brown from the Wichita Eagle, newspaper publishers John Lewis, Rhonda Humble and Anderson, and broadcasters Bryan Thompson, Dan Dillon and Dale Goter.
That meeting was followed by another meeting in Emporia on May 28, 1999, and another in Topeka on September 10. Officers elected at a meeting on November 11 in Topeka included Vern Keel as president, John Lewis as vice-president, Randy Brown as secretary and Harriett Lange as treasurer. The Kansas Press Association, the Kansas Association of Broadcasters and the Kansas Professional Chapter of SPJ were identified as the founding organizations and KPA and KAB provided funds to help cover beginning costs for the Coalition.
Another meeting was held in Topeka on January 27. In February the Coalition started a Web site (now sunshinecoalition.com) and an Open Government Hotline to Attorney Mike Merriam (phone: (785) 233-3700). The final organizational meeting was held in Emporia on May 19, 2000.
In July of that year the Coalition received approval from the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit, educational organization, and in November it received a $10,000 grant from NFOIC for start-up activities that would include production of an educational video on open government in Kansas.
Keel resigned as president of the Coalition in November of 2000 before moving to Colorado. Vice President John Lewis succeeded him. By then, the organization had nearly 40 charter members including newspapers, broadcast stations, law firms and individuals who shared a concern about open government in Kansas. And the Coalition now has four sustaining members.
History provided by:
Vernon Keel, founder
Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government
Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government
Background
Organization of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government began at a meeting in Wichita on May 8, 1999. As significant as that might seem, it must be viewed as an important step in a larger and longer process that started many years before by individuals and, particularly, state media organizations that were concerned about the need to increase citizen access to government meetings and records.
Kansas, like most states, had always provided some form of limited access to public records. However, this was generally limited to records that were required by law to be kept and these records were open only to individuals who had a legal interest in them. Following earlier attempts to improve statutory access to public records and public meetings, the real success came with passage of the Open Meetings Act in 1972 and the Open Records Act in 1984.
These were excellent laws initiated by individuals who shared a concern about improving public access to government in Kansas. The Open Meetings Act declared that all meetings for the conduct of governmental affairs and the transaction of governmental business must be open to the public. The Open Records Act declared that all public records must be open for inspection by any person unless otherwise provided by law and that “this act shall be liberally construed and applied to promote such a policy.”
The problem, however, was that both acts had been amended freely over the years that followed. By time the Sunshine Coalition completed the organizational process in 2000 there were 44 exemptions to the Open Records Act (five pages, single-spaced). Similarly, there were 13 exemptions to the open meetings law (13 ways a public body could close a meeting to the public). In addition, by then there were already 80 Attorney General Opinions to help “clarify” the meaning of the open meetings law and its exemptions.
Organizing the Coalition
The process for organizing an open government coalition in Kansas began in November of 1998 when Vernon Keel, professor of communication law at Wichita State University, attended a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. At the time, Keel was State Sunshine Chair (freedom of information officer) for the Kansas Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The meeting of State Sunshine Chairs he attended in Nashville was held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC). Both meetings were held at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University. There he met individuals from other states that had open government organizations and who encouraged him to start that process in Kansas.
When he returned from that meeting, Keel began discussions with people he knew who were concerned about the open government situation in Kansas and who would be interested in trying to organize some sort group to deal with these issues. The people he contacted included: David Furnas of the Kansas Press Association (KPA); Harriett Lange of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters (KAB); Molly McMillin, president of the Kansas Professional Chapter of SPJ; Les Anderson from the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State and a newspaper publisher; Randy Brown and others at the Wichita Eagle; Mike Merriam, legal counsel for KPA and KAB; and Mike Kautsch, law professor at the University of Kansas and former director of the William Allen While School of Journalism there. Furnas, Lange and McMillin extended the discussion with members of their respective organizations.
The first organizational meeting was held in Wichita on May 8, 1999, and featured Nancy Monson, who was executive director of NFOIC and head of the Freedom of Information Foundation in Texas. In addition to Keel, Furnas, Lange and McMillin, others attending included Peter Pitz, Rick Thames and Brown from the Wichita Eagle, newspaper publishers John Lewis, Rhonda Humble and Anderson, and broadcasters Bryan Thompson, Dan Dillon and Dale Goter.
That meeting was followed by another meeting in Emporia on May 28, 1999, and another in Topeka on September 10. Officers elected at a meeting on November 11 in Topeka included Vern Keel as president, John Lewis as vice-president, Randy Brown as secretary and Harriett Lange as treasurer. The Kansas Press Association, the Kansas Association of Broadcasters and the Kansas Professional Chapter of SPJ were identified as the founding organizations and KPA and KAB provided funds to help cover beginning costs for the Coalition.
Another meeting was held in Topeka on January 27. In February the Coalition started a Web site (now sunshinecoalition.com) and an Open Government Hotline to Attorney Mike Merriam (phone: (785) 233-3700). The final organizational meeting was held in Emporia on May 19, 2000.
In July of that year the Coalition received approval from the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit, educational organization, and in November it received a $10,000 grant from NFOIC for start-up activities that would include production of an educational video on open government in Kansas.
Keel resigned as president of the Coalition in November of 2000 before moving to Colorado. Vice President John Lewis succeeded him. By then, the organization had nearly 40 charter members including newspapers, broadcast stations, law firms and individuals who shared a concern about open government in Kansas. And the Coalition now has four sustaining members.
History provided by:
Vernon Keel, founder
Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government