Despite tight budget situation, legislative travel expenditures in 2010 higher than in 2009 — and the year’s not over

In fiscal year 2009, which covers the period from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, travel and salary expenses to conferences for the Legislature totaled 35,986.

Topeka ? Note: This article is part of a weeklong series, running March 14 to March 20, honoring Sunshine Week.

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Obtaining the information

What information and records were requested? Legislators’ travel expenses to conferences.

Which agency? Kansas Division of Legislative Administrative Services.

How quickly did they respond to request? Within 21 minutes the department e-mailed, saying it had records related to the request. The information is based on summaries on travel reimbursements.

How much did records cost? Records were provided free of charge.

Was any information from request denied? No.

Is this information currently accessible by the public? It is not available online but available on request.

Even during a budget crisis, Kansas legislators and their staff hit the road at taxpayer expense to attend conferences.

In fiscal year 2009, which covers the period from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009, travel and salary expenses to conferences for the Legislature totaled $235,986, according to documents obtained by the Lawrence Journal-World through an open records request.

Legislators hit meetings across the country and a couple in Canada.

The biggest trips were to New Orleans and Chicago.

In July 2008, Kansas taxpayers paid $41,961 for 20 legislators (13 Republicans and seven Democrats) and five staff members (four from Republican leadership offices, one from the House clerk’s office) to attend the National Conference of State Legislatures legislative summit in New Orleans.

And also in July 2008, taxpayers paid $32,143 for 14 legislators (13 Republicans and one Democrat) and two staff members (from Republican leadership offices) to attend the American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual meeting in Chicago.

By the start of fiscal year 2010, which was July 1, 2009, the state’s revenue plunge was more than evident, and lawmakers had reduced out-of-state travel, but a huge in-state conference drove up travel expenses to a level even higher than last fiscal year, and there are still four months remaining in this fiscal year.

In fiscal year 2010, the travel meter is at $236,883.

Almost exactly half that amount — $118,883 — was for more than 100 legislators to attend the Council of State Governments’ Midwestern Legislative Conference held in August in Overland Park. State Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, is chairman of the non-partisan conference, which includes 11 Midwestern states.

But aside from being the host state for that conference, the Legislature has put in restrictions on who gets reimbursed for travel. Reimbursement is now restricted to legislators who serve as officers of the organizations that are having the meetings or who serve as a chair or vice chair of committees.