LAWRENCE Sen. Julia Lynn was in no mood to discuss potential conflicts of interest based on intersection of her role as Republican leader of the Senate Commerce Committee and her work for a Lenexa company that earned more than $13.3 million from state contracts since 2016.
At the same time, Lynn didnt want to talk about her role in a private meeting during 2017 in which a major Kansas Department of Commerce data breach was discussed with Secretary Antonio Soave, agency attorney Bob North and one of Lynns executive colleagues at Allied Global Services, which was seeking contract work to help resolve the hacking scandal.
I see where this is going, Lynn said in the interview. Do I need to get an attorney?
The 14-year veteran of the Senate said influence she would have exerted in Topeka to drum up business for Allied Global Services shouldnt be questioned because Kansas law exempted members of the Legislature from conflicts of interest. Lynn has listed AGS as her employer on required annual statements of substantial interest, but she didnt take steps to recuse herself from situations giving the appearance she leveraged her Senate position for benefit of AGS.
I have to work, Lynn said. The only people who can have a conflict of interest are the employees who work within the state, if you look at the statute.
After The Topeka Capital-Journal sought comment from executives at Allied Global Services, Lynn resigned Friday from her job at Inclusion Works, a division of AGS. She had been with the company since 2013.
Its not clear whether Lynn, of Olathe, intends to seek re-election in 2020 in a Senate district that includes Lenexa, DeSoto, Gardner and Olathe.
Republican and Democratic legislators said Lynns interpretation of state law regarding conflict of interest was inaccurate. Generally, conflict of interest is defined as an instance in which a person stood to derive benefit from actions made in an official capacity. Not only does Kansas law outline conflict-of-interest boundaries for legislators, rules of the Kansas Senate illuminate steps available to lawmakers when confronted with such conflicts.
IT IS a citizen Legislature, said House Speaker Ron Ryckman, R-Olathe. Transparency and being able to disclose your political conflict is an important part of the process.
I worry about conflict of interest all the time. All the time, said Sen. Bruce Givens, an El Dorado Republican.
Lynn said her conduct didnt merit scrutiny unless it had been improper for one of her former Senate colleagues to simultaneously serve in the Legislature and work as legal counsel to the Blue Valley school district in Johnson County. Her reference was to Sen. John Vratil, a Republican legislator from 1998 to 2013. He was employed part-time by the district from 1984 to 2011 before accepting a full-time job with the district.
Vratil said Lynns characterization of state ethics law was absolutely not true. He said Lynns position didnt hold up given an informal opinion from the attorney general declaring his work for the school district created no conflict of interest.
Its easy to deal with a conflict of interest if you acknowledge it, Vratil said.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said legislators in Kansas were expected to hold jobs outside the Capitol and contribute to their communities. Hensley, a retired school teacher, said the key was whether lawmakers remained silent about conflicts of interest or publicly declared their condition. For example, he said, legislators who operate car dealerships have announced their conflict of interest during policy debates on taxes paid on vehicle purchases.
In 2018, Hensley said, Lynn led the effort to spike a legislative audit of contracting and expenditures by Soave, who had been forced out as commerce secretary a year earlier.
