Sedgwick County commissioners got into a discussion Wednesday related to an upcoming question on the August 2nd ballot involving the Kansas Constitution and abortion rights.

The discussion was held after two Kansas House members, Republicans Patrick Penn and Susan Humphries, raised concerns about a newsletter sent by Commissioner Lacey Cruse that they said contained misinformation about the ballot question.

Commissioner Jim Howell said he wanted to get a correction out to county residents, and he is not advocating for a yes or no vote, but he wanted to use taxpayer money in a way that is neutral to get accurate information to voters on the issue.   He said he wants voters to know the effect of a yes vote and a no vote.

Commissioner Cruse said commissioners express their opinions all the time in newsletters, and she has a right to do that as well.  She said she was advocating for people to get out and vote on August 2nd.

County Counselor Mike Pepoon said his office was unable to determine if any law was broken with the newsletter, and he said the state ethics commission said an existing law does not apply to this situation.   He said this is new territory that his office has never seen before, and there is no county policy on newsletters.    He said there is a discussion with County Manager Tom Stolz on whether there should be a policy.

Commission Chairman David Dennis said he would rather have a policy that says commissioners cannot advocate for or against issues from the bench or through taxpayer-funded newsletters.    Commissioner Pete Meitzner urged caution by all commissioners, saying they should not take an advocacy position in a newsletter.

Pepoon got a clarification statement from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office on the “Value Them Both Amendment” that was passed by the legislature.  Howell moved to send the statement out to recipients of all commission newsletters.

Cruse said she will change one word in her newsletter, from “would” to “could,” regarding the right to abortions in Kansas.

Commissioners voted unanimously to send the statement out to newsletter recipients and post it on the county web site.

Commissioner Sarah Lopez feels the discussion was targeting one commissioner and setting a precedent on future issues.   She said there should be discussions with staff on commission newsletters.