Topeka ? Atty. Gen. Phill Kline said Wednesday his office was saving the state money by employing his nephew as his driver and that the decision to hire 23-year-old Brad Kline as an assistant was not his.

In an interview, the attorney general also said he would not discuss his nephew’s 12-month license suspension in June 2000 for refusal to be tested for alcohol or drugs.

Previous attorneys general have been chauffeured by their deputies, by attorneys on their staffs or by agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Kline said.

Those arrangements cost the state about $50,000 a year more than the employment of his brother’s son, Kline said.

Brad Kline holds the title of “special assistant” and is paid $22,006 a year to drive his uncle to appointments, take notes at meetings and handle requests, according to the state Department of Administration. The Attorney General’s Office estimated he worked about 60 hours a week in the position, which he began when Phill Kline took office in January.

Lost license

A copy of Brad Kline’s driving record, obtained from the Division of Motor Vehicles, shows that an order suspending his driver’s license for one year was entered June 20, 2000.

The suspension was ordered for his refusal to submit to a test for alcohol or drugs on Feb. 12, 2000, in Douglas County, according to the record. Kline was given a citation for driving too fast for conditions and refused to submit to a test.

Brad Kline was hired by — and reports to — Eric Rucker, the attorney general’s chief of staff. Asked about Brad Kline’s driving record, Rucker said, “It did not play a role in my decision.”

Whitney Watson, the attorney general’s press secretary, said Brad Kline did not want to comment about his employment.

“You have to look at it this way: Phill’s an elected official. He’s been in the public eye for 12 years. Brad didn’t sign up for this,” Watson said.

Questions about Brad Kline’s employment surfaced when Kansas City, Mo., television station KCTV aired a report about it Tuesday night.

No nepotism allowed

Kansas law prohibits nepotism, which broadly means the practice of showing favoritism to relatives.

The Kansas statute provides that “no state officer or employee shall advocate or cause the employment, appointment, promotion, transfer or advancement to any office or position of the state, of a member of such officer’s or employee’s household or a family member.”

Phill Kline said questions about his nephew’s employment were to be expected. But the hiring “wasn’t my call,” he said, adding that he responded to Rucker’s plan to hire Brad Kline by asking if it was legal.

Rucker worked with Brad Kline during last year’s campaign and, during the postelection transition period, hired all of the administrative staff for the incoming attorney general.

Others had submitted resumes for administrative jobs in the Attorney General’s Office, Rucker said.

But when he considered the irregular hours and proximity to the attorney general that would be required of the special assistant, Rucker said, he thought Brad Kline was the perfect fit for the position.

“We certainly considered more than one individual for each of the slots that we ultimately filled,” Rucker said. “But given the peculiarities, the specifics of the job’s responsibility, he’s the only one I extended the offer to.”

Kline said he added the driving duties to an existing “special assistant” job that dealt with requests, appointments and correspondence.

A driver is necessary, the attorney general said, so that he can work while traveling.

‘Questionable’ hiring

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said the state’s nepotism law was clear and that Brad Kline’s employment “seems to be very inappropriate.”

“I think it’s really questionable. The hiring in and of itself is questionable,” said Hensley, D-Topeka.

Carol Williams, executive director of the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission, said the panel would study the matter if Kline’s office made a request.

Kline’s office said it had not filed a request and pointed to the commission’s 1999 opinion in the case of an applicant for a job at the Lansing Correctional Facility, which employed two of his relatives.

The commission said the applicant could avoid both nepotism and the appearance of impropriety by creating a “chain of command” in which his relatives would report to someone not under his direct authority.

Phill Kline said Wednesday he could understand questions about his nephew’s job.

However, he added, “You put it in perspective, you put it in balance, and I think people understand it.”