By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press

TOPEKA -- The "Road Map for Kansas" that Gov. Sam Brownback outlined during his campaign as the template for his administration contains a promise to reform state government, declaring it should be accountable and transparent.

But Brownback's private meetings at his official residence with fellow Republicans who hold majorities on specific legislative committees have led to questions about his administration's commitment to transparency. The local district attorney is investigating whether the gatherings violated the Kansas Open Meetings Act, though under the law, it's lawmakers and not Brownback, the organizer of the events, who'd face any civil fines.

Brownback and his top aides are confident the gatherings were legal, and allies see the debate surrounding them as an unnecessary and even politically driven distraction from important legislative issues. But the details of what happened at the dinner get-togethers haven't fully emerged, and legislators' accounts have differed.

Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor, a Democrat, said he's "more likely than not" to interview the governor as a witness, and he expects his office to question dozens of legislators by Valentine's Day.

"It's going to be, basically, an individual-by-individual process to determine who has knowledge," Taylor said during a news conference last week. "It's going to be a painstaking process."

Brownback had seven gatherings in January, for members of 13 specific committees. All but one invited guest were Republicans, and the lone Democrat has said she suspects she received an invitation by mistake and didn't attend.

Because the GOP has large majorities in both chambers, if Republicans agree on issues such as cutting taxes, overhauling the state's education funding system and starting a 401(k)-style pension plan for new teachers and government workers, they can push proposals through committee and each chamber. That has made Democratic legislative leaders suspicious about what was happening at the gatherings.

Of course, Brownback isn't the first governor to face questions about his commitment to open government. Democrat Kathleen Sebelius had been elected but not inaugurated when, late in 2002, 14 news organizations, including The Associated Press, filed an ultimately unsuccessful lawsuit over closed meetings of teams advising her on reforming state government.

But in his "Road Map for Kansas," Brownback promises to work to see the state's actions will be "clearly explained and grounded in the equal application of the law."

"Government should always be accountable to the people," the online version of the road map says. "Accountability begins with transparency."

Many Republicans defend the meetings as the kind of get-togethers governors have been having for years at Cedar Crest, the official residence.

Top Democrats acknowledged they don't see a problem with governors inviting random groups of legislators to Cedar Crest, saying the distinction with Brownback's gatherings is that they involved specific committees. Brownback plans closed, bipartisan gatherings Monday and Tuesday, and House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said he'll attend the Monday event.

Taylor agrees with the administration that while the Open Meetings Act generally prevents a majority of a governmental body from gathering to discuss business or take action, having a majority in the same place doesn't itself violate the law. It depends on how members interact and what is discussed, he said.

The Brownback administration maintains the events are social, and top aides said lawmakers were warned that discussions couldn't stray into official business.

Rep. Steve Johnson, an Assaria Republican who attended a dinner with other members of the House Pensions and Benefits Committee recalled members dispersed, in chairs, eating -- because Cedar Crest has no formal dining room large enough -- with "our trays on our laps." He said legislators may have chatted one-on-one about some issues, but not as a group and not with Brownback.

"He said welcome and thanks -- that's what I remember," Johnson said.

Rep. Marvin Kleeb, an Overland Park Republican invited to four events, said he recalls only general remarks from the governor at one gathering, about hopes for a productive session.

"If the purpose was to lobby or hold substantive discussions, they were a failure," he said.

Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican, said Brownback made remarks at the dinner he attended, though he described them as repeating what the governor already had said in previous speeches and, "We didn't discuss any particular bills."

Taylor will have to sort through many legislators' individual accounts -- as well as the governor's -- in his investigation because the invitations to the seven gatherings in January went to 29 of 40 senators and 62 of 125 House members. Until more details emerge -- and perhaps even afterward -- questions will remain about the Brownback administration's commitment to transparency.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John Hanna has covered state government and politics since 1987.