Topeka ? State law isn’t clear about what records the governor’s office or the Kansas Supreme Court must disclose as conservative Republican senators hunt for information about whether the two had any contact with each other on school finance issues.

Both the court and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius have said repeatedly they’ve had no contact, but conservatives remain skeptical. Their questions are fueled by the revelation two weeks ago that Justice Lawton Nuss discussed education funding during a lunch with two senators, with a school finance lawsuit still before the court.

Sens. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler, and Kay O’Connor, R-Olathe, sent a letter Wednesday demanding access to records from the governor’s office.

They are drafting a similar letter to the Supreme Court, and court spokesman Ron Keefover said he’s already denied a legislator’s anonymous request for records, made through the Legislative Research Department.

Keefover said that under the Kansas Open Records Act, individual judges and justices aren’t considered public agencies that must disclose such records.

Huelskamp said he believes the court and the governor’s office are obligated to disclose records of their communications, but others doubt he will obtain what he wants.

“I would think that it would be difficult to obtain anything without a subpoena, and maybe not even then, from the court,” said House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka. “From the governor, I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

Matt All, the governor’s chief legal counsel, said her office is working on a reply.

“We’re just starting the process,” he said. “We don’t even know what records are available for us to review, let alone what they contain.”

The Nuss case has prompted a judicial misconduct investigation, an inquiry by the attorney general’s office and Mays’ plan to appoint a committee.

Nuss had lunch March 1 with Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, and Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, a longtime Nuss friend. Morris has said Nuss indicated that a bipartisan plan would be helpful.

Huelskamp wants the court to release records from any communication among justices on the case about whether they will require a bipartisan plan or certain dollar amount.

Assistant Atty. Gen. Theresa Bush, who handles records issues, said in the 22 years since the law was enacted, no court, attorney general’s opinion or journal article has interpreted that provision.

“It’s just not come up,” she said. “It’s anybody’s guess as to what it truly means.”

For example, she asked, does the exception apply to a Supreme Court justice’s staff, or the court’s staff?

“The issue is what’s a court record, versus what is a judge’s record, and that’s a factual question,” she said.

While that provision doesn’t apply to the governor’s office, there are other exceptions to the Open Records Act that might, she said.

Mike Merriam, a Topeka attorney who represents news organizations, said even if there appear to be exceptions covering records, his advice to people is, “Go ahead and ask for it.”

“If you don’t ask for it, you won’t get it – obviously,” he said.

Meanwhile, six House Democrats protested Mays’ appointment of Judiciary Committee Chairman Mike O’Neal as chairman of the special panel Mays formed to investigate what’s become known as “the Nuss Fuss.”

In a letter to Mays, they noted that O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, heard about the Nuss conversation from Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, on March 31, shortly after Barnett heard about it from Morris. They said O’Neal could become a witness before his own committee.

But Mays said, “I have a lot of confidence in Mike O’Neal, confidence that he’s fair, that he’s capable.”