State legislative leaders have approved spending up to $20,000 to hire outside counsel for a legal defense connected to an open-records complaint tied to the Legislature’s Committee on Government Efficiency, after the Kansas Attorney General’s Office narrowed the matter to Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita. The Legislative Coordinating Council moved forward with the hiring decision, selecting Kansas City, Missouri attorney Edward Greim to represent Erickson.
The dispute traces to public requests for copies of suggestions made through a committee solicitation portal. Kansas Reflector sought records on Feb. 25, 2025, but did not receive them until April 9, while another request by a committee member was answered in March. The complaint described delays as inconsistent with the Kansas Open Records Act, which requires production within three days or a detailed explanation.
In the complaint process described in the piece, Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith filed an open-records complaint with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office in May 2025, and the matter was under review through at least November. The Kansas Attorney General’s Office ultimately focused its investigation on Erickson as chairwoman of COGE, and legislative leaders responded by approving outside legal representation.
Kansas Press Association covers the underlying allegations and the spending decision as part of a broader challenge to government transparency, arguing the episode could have been resolved without taxpayer-funded legal costs.