Kansas Gov.-elect Sam Brownback is preparing

to appoint the person who will lead a key initiative designed to

make Kansas more business-friendly.

Brownback planned a Thursday morning news conference to announce

his choice to lead a new office of the repealer. Brownback’s

transition team says in a statement that the same person will be

nominated to serve as the next secretary of administration.

Creating the repealer’s office would fulfill a campaign promise

from Brownback. He has said it will look for outdated, unnecessary

and burdensome laws and regulations to repeal as a way to help the

economy grow. But critics have suggested the aim is to free

Brownback’s key business supporters from regulations they don’t

like, and they’ve mocked him for proposing what they see as a new

bureaucracy.