Making perks to legislators part of the public record is good business. In fact, letting the perks go unreported in the past should never have been allowed. Kansans are entitled to know who is trying to influence legislation and what conduits lobbyists believe will be susceptible to that influence. The bill also requires competitive bidding for professional and consulting contracts. Had this requirement been in place before, the integrity and judgement of several of Gov. Graves' executive branch officials may not have been called into question.
Integrity is sometimes hard to come by in the political arena.
Kansas lawmakers can now more easily demonstrate their integrity with the new ethics reform. Legislators may be grateful, in the long run, to see who their real friends are and who is just trying to buy them off.