Congressmen, the governor and other elected state and local officials have done it for years.

Now, board members for rural water districts also will be required to make public their financial interests.

Later this month, members of the state’s rural water district governing boards will be told to file financial statements with their district offices.

They’ll be expected to list the sources of income for themselves and their spouses, whatever farmland they may own and any businesses in which they have a stake of more than 5 percent.

“We’ll be putting the word out shortly,” said Elmer Ronnebaum, general manager at the Kansas Rural Water Assn.

Responding to a June 3 inquiry from the association, the state Governmental Ethics Commission recently issued an opinion that rural water district board members were subject to the state’s laws on conflicts of interest.

Those laws require candidates for public office — incumbents, too, in this case — to file Statement of Substantial Interest forms.

“I doubt that very many board members were aware of this,” Ronnebaum said.

Ronnebaum said his office requested the opinion on behalf of “a couple districts” that had wondered if their board members were subjected to the laws.

“We did it just to clear the air,” he said.

Ronnebaum said he was unaware of any conflict-of-interest controversies brewing within the state’s 300 rural water districts.

“This isn’t being driven by controversy, though I think it’s fair to say the potential is there,” said Gary Hanson, a Topeka lawyer who represents the association and several rural water districts throughout the state.

Until now, Hanson said, rural water districts have been unsure of their status because their election processes are considerably less formal than those for state, county and city officials.

“It’s a very informal process,” Hanson said. “There’s almost never any campaigning to speak of; it’s usually a case of somebody deciding to go off the board and somebody else saying they’re willing to serve.”

He added, “Actually, it’s one of those things where if you don’t want to serve, you make sure you’re at the annual meeting — if you’re not there, you’re liable to get elected.”

Most districts, Hanson said, elect and re-elect board members at their annual meetings, usually in the spring.

The opinion isn’t expected to meet resistance at the rural water districts around Lawrence.

“I suspect there’ll be some grumbling about it, then there’ll be some laughing — and then they’ll fill out the forms,” said State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, who’s been on Rural Water District No. 1 of Douglas County’s seven-member board for the past 20 years. He’s currently board chairman.

Anne M. Bracker, a board member of the Rural Water District No. 13 of Jefferson County for the past 4 1/2 years, said she wasn’t bothered by the new requirement.

“We’ve already discussed this,” Bracker said. “All of us, I think, go out of our way to make sure the others know of any potential conflict. And if there’s a conflict, that person abstains from voting.”

Bracker added, “All this does is make that information part of the public record. I don’t have a problem with that.”

In Douglas County, six rural water districts serve about 4,500 residences and businesses. Rural water districts based in Jefferson, Osage and Franklin counties also serve customers in Douglas County.