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Three of Top Four Missouri Lawmakers Claim They Are Exempt From Sunshine Law

A Cole Co. judge declared lawmakers' inability to pass tax credit legislation in the fall rendered a Missouri science investment bill unconstitutional.
David Shane
/
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A Cole Co. judge declared lawmakers' inability to pass tax credit legislation in the fall rendered a Missouri science investment bill unconstitutional.

Three of Missouri's top four lawmakers are claiming they are exempt from having to release their emails and daily calendars under the Missouri Sunshine Law.

The Associated Press submitted open-records requests seeking the information as part of a national Sunshine Week project conducted in all 50 states.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, Senate Minority Leader Joe Keaveny and House Speaker Todd Richardson all denied the requests. House and Senate officials cited a legal interpretation that the records of individual lawmakers aren't subject to the open-records law because they are not considered to be a "public governmental body."

But House Minority Leader Jake Hummel said he believes lawmakers should comply with that law. The Democrat from St. Louis released copies of both his emails and calendar.  

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.