Both the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Kansas Senate have asked for an attorney general’s opinion on several legal issues surrounding appointments to the Kansas University Hospital Board.

Sen. Majority Leader Derek Schmidt and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley released a joint letter this morning asking Attorney General Paul Morrison to weigh in on several controversies related to who can serve on the board that oversees the hospital’s half-billion-dollar budget.

Specifically, the letter asks Morrison to determine if Kansas University Provost Richard Lariviere can legally serve on the board as an ex-officio member. The state statute creating the board lists six ex officio positions, but neither Lariviere’s position as provost nor executive vice chancellor of the university is listed. Lariviere, though, has been serving and voting on the board.