Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is again backing proposals aimed at giving voters more timely information about who contributes money to candidates and how independent groups are trying to influence elections.

Sebelius said Wednesday that the state needs to require groups that sponsor “issue” advertising during campaigns to disclose who is financing their efforts and how they’re spending their dollars. State law now requires such disclosure only if a group specifically advocates the election or defeat of a candidate.

In remarks to the state Governmental Ethics Commission, Sebelius said candidates and groups who phone voters should be required to identify themselves, just as print and broadcast ads are required to carry a “paid for” line.

Also, she supports a proposal to require candidates to disclose some contributions within 48 hours when the election is less than 12 days away.

Sebelius served on the ethics commission in the 1970s and said the campaign finance laws Kansas enacted then put it ahead of other states.

“I am a little afraid that we may be falling behind,” she said.

The commission backs the same proposals, and the measures dealing with telephone calls and disclosure by candidates close to an election were included in an elections bill last year. However, Sebelius vetoed it because of other provisions.

Ex-governor approved

The Senate also voted 40-0 to confirm the appointment of former Gov. John Carlin to a group that oversees the state’s efforts to stimulate the biosciences industry.

Carlin, a Democrat, served as governor in 1979-87 and was director of the National Archives and Records Administration for 10 years, starting in 1995.

Sebelius, also a Democrat, named him to the Kansas Biosciences Authority in July.