Topeka ? Cities, counties and school districts on Thursday united in opposition to a bill that would require governmental entities to file annual reports with the state that show how much in tax dollars they spent on lobbying.

The only one who testified in support of Senate Bill 343 was Jeff Glendening, state director of Americans for Prosperity, a group that advocates for low taxes and limited government.

“It’s important for citizens to know where their taxpayer dollars are going,” Glendening said.

Representatives of local governments said records showing the use of taxpayer funds are already publicly available and that the proposed bill would add more bureaucracy and could limit input from local governments to the Legislature.

The bill would also require that governments report the amount of money spent on lobbying by associations that they are members of. City officials said that would be difficult to calculate.

Nathan Eberline, legal counsel for the Kansas Association of Counties, said that if a county commissioner and legislator discussed a bill then that time spent would have to be reported as use of tax dollars for lobbying.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee took no immediate action on the measure.