Kansas legislative negotiators broker open-records changes

TOPEKA — Negotiators with the Kansas House and Senate have reached a deal on a package of open-records reforms, setting it up for final votes in the state Legislature.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the agreement Wednesday would open up for public access emails sent by public workers about state business. That’s even if the electronic correspondence is sent on private accounts.

The deal also would define police footage from dashboard and body cameras as investigative records under the open records act.

The deal, if passed by the Legislature, would culminate more than a year of legislative effort.

It’s not immediately clear how soon the Legislature might vote on the reforms.