Top Kansas Republican Senators Want Greater Role in State Budget
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - With Governor Sam Brownback currently refusing to say how he'll keep Kansas' budget balanced, some GOP lawmakers are promising more aggressive oversight. Some challenge the governor's longstanding control over annual spending blueprints. The Senate's top Republican outlined a proposal this week to give lawmakers a bigger role in budget issues. Some agencies' potential cuts would eliminate programs that keep state prisons from becoming crowded or even hinder efforts to collect taxes.Kansas has struggled to hit revenue targets and balance its budget since GOP legislators slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback's urging as an economic stimulus.Monthly tax collections have fallen short of expectations 71 percent of the time since.
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Cause of 2015 Plane Crash that Killed Two Kansas Men Released
DENVER (AP) - Federal air crash investigators say a pilot was unfamiliar with his plane's fuel system and pilot error contributed to a 2015 propeller plane crash near Eaton that left two Kansas men dead. The National Transportation Safety Board says the pilot lost control in gusting wind and crashed because of the error.
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Kansas Board of Regents to Review Proposals Governing Concealed Carry
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - State-run universities in Kansas must begin allowing concealed weapons onto campuses next July. Schools must submit proposed policies to the governing Kansas Board of Regents by October.The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little told the University Senate on Thursday there are high-security labs and other campus areas where shooting a gun would be dangerous. But she says the state's attorney general has told the school it can't make those places exceptions to state law.
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Wichita State University Renovation to Include New Makerspace
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita State University will renovate the second-oldest building on campus into a makerspace for creative people from the Wichita area. The $8 million renovation of Henrion Hall is included in a $250 million fundraising campaign the university announced Wednesday. The Wichita Eagle reports the renovations at Henrion Hall will update arts facilities and add such things as an audio studio, video production lab, pottery wheels, power tools and metalworking.
