JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A lawsuit alleging that a Republican Missouri senator was violating the state’s open records law has been dismissed.
The Kansas City Star reports that a Cole County judge dismissed the lawsuit against Sen. Rob Schaaf of St. Joseph on Wednesday. The judge ruled that the judicial branch doesn’t have jurisdiction over the case.
The lawsuit was filed by a nonprofit, the Missouri Alliance for Freedom, which has ties to leaders in the state’s Republican Party. The group wanted Schaaf to release records of his communications with staff and outside individuals.
Schaaf refused and argued that the state’s Sunshine Law doesn’t apply to individual state representatives, senators or their staff. He says the lawsuit was an attempt to derail his legislative efforts to force political nonprofits to disclose their donors.
The nonprofit’s attorney says they’re reviewing the decision.
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
