Women testifying at Kansas Senate hearings are no longer allowed to wear low cut tops or mini skirts after a Senator deemed them "inappropriate".
Kansas Senator Mitch Holmes has implemented a new dress code that lays out the specific new rules for women, but says nothing about what men should wear, Buzzfeed has reported.
The Republican senator and head of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee introduced the new rule, which states witnesses should dress "respectfully" and said “For ladies low-cut necklines and miniskirts are inappropriate”.
Senator Holmes told the committee he had considered putting in a rule stipulating that men wear suits, but then decided men didn't need any guidance, while he had seen women dressing "provocatively" at the Capitol.
“It’s one of those things that’s hard to define,” Mr Holmes said.
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“Put it out there and let people know we’re really looking for you to be addressing the issue rather than trying to distract or bring eyes to yourself.”
Female senators on both sides of the political spectrum reacted with disgust to the new rules, saying they were "strange" and out-of-date.
The senators also questioned how the rules would be enforced and what would be defined as "low cut".
“I am more interested in what they have to say about the direction our state should go than what they’re wearing that day,” Republican Senator Carolyn McGinn said.
