On Tuesday the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission held their monthly meeting in Topeka.

The agenda for the meeting was a bit curious:  The plan was for a 15-minute session that started at 11:45, followed by a 30-minute session 90 minutes later.

Executive Director Carol Williams gave a brief two-minute report:

• There will be 663 state and county candidates this election year.
• There are 39 house seats that are not contested.
• The August primary will decide 13 house contests.

Next the Commission had a 10-minute, closed executive session, followed by a recess until 1:30.

After reconvening, the Commission held a second 10-minute closed executive session, followed by a 3-minute closed session.

The Commission went back into open session only to adjourn.

After 23 minutes of closed sessions, there were no comments, no public hearings scheduled, or any public documented created by their secret work.

The next meeting might be in July, or they might skip a month if there are no items to act upon, which is not uncommon during the summer.  But this is an election year.

At the end of the meeting there was no story.  There was nothing to report about the secret sessions.

In his 6 PM report on Tuesday, Martin Hawver, who attended the morning session but not the afternoon session, published an article, “Ethics:  Pyle hearing?  Not now”, in his Capitol Flash.

Hawver’s article gave details about a leaked complaint about State Sen. Dennis Pyle, which had been reported by Prime Buzz on June 7.  But the Ethics Commission was silent about this matter.  The person filing that complaint is still anonymous.

Update (6/28):  The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the complaint against State Sen. Dennis Pyle was dismissed.

Ken Dunwoody, a property rights activist from unincorporated Johnson County, on Thursday posted “Kansas, a dismal state of State ethics” on his NOlathe blog.

He updated an earlier article to reveal letters from the Ethics Commission that his complaints against State Senators John Vratil, Derek Schmidt, and Stephen Morris had all been dismissed on Tuesday, June 22 because:

“the Commission found there is not sufficient evidence to determine that there is probable cause …”

Apparently, the Ethics Commission considered at least 5 complaints in their 23 minutes of closed executive sessions.

While those filing ethics complaints had secret hearings by the ethics commission, they took their matters to the court of public opinion by releasing details of their complaints.

Prior to 2009, those filing complaints were bound by confidentiality.  But after an Attorney General’s opinion those filing complaints were no longer bound by confidentiality and public disclosure of complaints is now possible .  Someone filing a complaint can remain anonymous by releasing the information to the press.

Ethics issues are likely to become hot issues in this election year, and unlike Tuesday, attending the Ethics meetings will reveal details of what happened.

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Twitter Minutes 6/22/2010
[follow us on Twitter @KansasWatchdog; hashtag #ksethics]

• 11:49 AM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission meeting starting now in Topeka
• 11:56 AM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics After report from Exec Dir, Carol Williams, 10 min. closed executive session
• 12:03 PM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics After 10 min closed session, there is a planned recess till 1:30. Don’t understand planned agenda
• 01:33 PM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics Ethics Commission reconvenes to go into 2nd 10 minute executive session
• 01:44 PM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics Another 3 minutes of closed executive session announced
• 01:51 PM @KansasWatchdog: #ksethics Meeting adjourns with no new public documents to obtain

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June 2010 document packet: Agenda and Minutes from May 18, 2010

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Related

• New Ethics opinion about contributions given in the name of another, Kansas Watchdog, May 19, 2010.
• State Senator Steineger fined $5000 at Ethics Hearing, Kansas Watchdog, May 19, 2010.
• Ethics: Legislators cannot pay for Turkey trips with campaign funds, Kansas Watchdog, May 11, 2010.
• State Senator Steineger to face 2 ethics allegations, Kansas Watchdog, April 21, 2010.
• Property rights activist looking for venue for county ethics hearing, Kansas Watchdog, April 9, 2010.
• Penalties for late filings at monthly Ethics Commission meeting, Kansas Watchdog, March 25, 2010.
• Kansas Supreme Court Justice asks Ethics Commission for opinion, Kansas Watchdog, Feb. 18, 2010.
• “Turn yourself in” if you violate campaign finance rules, Kansas Watchdog, Feb. 18, 2010.
• State Rep Don Hineman to face ethics civil fine hearing for turning himself in, Kansas Watchdog, Jan. 21, 2010.

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Contact: Earl F Glynn, earl@kansaswatchdog.org, KansasWatchdog.org