House renews exceptions to Open Records Act

? The House has passed a bill renewing 30 exceptions to the Kansas Open Records Act for five more years.

The vote Tuesday was 121-1.

The Senate approved a different version of the bill in January and must consider the House’s version.

The Open Records Act generally requires government agencies to keep the records they collect and compile accessible to the public. But it contains 47 exceptions allowing officials keep certain documents confidential.

Dozens of additional exceptions are sprinkled throughout other Kansas laws.

State law requires legislators to review each exception at least once every five years.

The exceptions covered by the bill include ones to keep the amounts of corporate franchise taxes paid by individual firms from becoming public and close the records of cases involving abused and neglected children.