Governor Kelly Signs Kansas Public School Funding Bill into Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Governor Laura Kelly has signed legislation to increase public school funding a day after Kansas lawmakers approved the plan. Kelly signed the bill at a ceremony Saturday, saying she was following through on a campaign promise to be the state's "education governor" and to try to end a protracted education funding lawsuit. The bill was a measure pushed by Kelly in hopes of satisfying a court mandate for more school funding. The bill ties Kelly's proposal to increase spending on public schools by roughly $90 million to several education policy changes favored by GOP lawmakers. Four school districts sued the state over education funding in 2010. The Kansas Supreme Court said in an order last year that a 2018 law promising additional funding increases wasn't sufficient because it hadn't accounted for inflation. An obligation to finance a suitable education for every Kansas child is written into the state's constitution.
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Kansas Lawmakers Allow Veto of Tax Relief Measure to Stand
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a Republican tax relief bill will stand because GOP lawmakers did not attempt to override it. The Republican-controlled Legislature adjourned Friday for its annual spring break without an override attempt. The deadline for trying to override will pass before lawmakers reconvene May 1. The bill was designed to prevent individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. Republican leaders said it would have prevented an unlegislated tax increase. Kelly and fellow Democrats said the bill was fiscally reckless. Republicans hold the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to override a veto but at least a few GOP lawmakers were expected to vote against overturning Kelly's action, making an attempt futile.
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Democrat Seeks Debate on Medicaid Expansion in Kansas Senate
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Senate's top Democrat is trying to force the chamber to debate Medicaid expansion. Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka notified the Senate that he will try to pull a Medicaid expansion bill out of committee. Hensley made the move Friday just before lawmakers adjourned for an annual spring break. Senators will vote on the matter when lawmakers reconvene May 1. Hensley will need 24 of 40 votes to succeed. The bill contains a modified version of Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's proposal to expand state Medicaid health coverage to as many as 150,000 more people. The House approved it last month. Top Senate Republicans oppose Medicaid expansion and argue that it will prove too expensive even with the federal government's promise to cover most of the cost.
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Kansas Lawmakers Approve Mandating Notice on Abortion 'Reversal'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have approved a measure that would require abortion providers to tell patients that medication abortions can be reversed after they take the first of two pills. The votes were 85-35 in the House and 26-11 in the Senate. The bill now goes to Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. She is an abortion-rights supporter and has questioned whether the bill is based on sound science. The bill deals with medication abortions involving RU-486. It would require abortion providers to inform patients that RU-486 isn't always effective in ending a pregnancy, so that a medication abortion can be reversed. Supporters said the bill ensures that women have the information so they can continue their pregnancies if they change their minds. Critics say it requires providers to distribute questionable information.
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Kansas Lawmakers Pass Bill to Allow Farm Bureau Health Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas pressed ahead Friday with allowing the state Farm Bureau to offer health coverage to members that doesn't satisfy the Affordable Care Act, a state-level effort to circumvent an Obama-era law President Donald Trump wants to replace. The Kansas House approved an insurance bill on an 84-39 vote that includes provisions to exempt health coverage offered by the Farm Bureau from state insurance regulation, anticipating that the nonprofit group could offer lower-cost products to thousands of individuals and families. The Senate approved the bill Thursday on a 28-12 vote, so it goes next to Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. The bill had overwhelming support from GOP legislators and faced strong opposition from Democrats, but Kelly hasn't taken a public position on it. The Kansas proposal is patterned after a Tennessee law in place for decades, and an Iowa enacted a law last year.
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Second Teen Charged in Killing of 17-Year-Old Olathe Student
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - A second teenager has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Olathe East High School senior. The Kansas City Star reports that the new suspect charged is a 17-year-old boy. He and a 16-year-old girl also charged with murder earlier this week are accused in the death of 17-year-old Rowan Padgett of Overland Park. Prosecutors are seeking to try both teens as adults. Authorities say Padgett's killing in a suburban neighborhood on March 29 occurred during a drug deal involving the anxiety drug Xanax. Padgett, an Olathe East High School senior, was just weeks from celebrating his 18th birthday when he died.
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Missouri Student Uses Snails to Study Mining Cleanup Impact
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri Southern State University student believes snails may be able to show the impact of mining cleanup efforts. MSSU senior Cameron Priester is studying the shell composition of snails from mined areas that have undergone cleanup efforts in Joplin and Webb City. He's interested in researching whether the snails have absorbed harmful minerals, such as lead or zinc. Priester believes snails could show whether or not ecosystems are healthier after mining cleanup. He plans to compare snails from the mined areas to snails that haven't been subjected to mining activity to see whether their shells have higher concentrations of heavy metals. Priester will present his findings at an upcoming conference for the regional chapter of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
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Gift to Kansas Will Fund Professorship in Military History
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The University of Kansas plans to establish a new professorship focused on military history with a $500,000 gift from a 1972 graduate. The university says in a news release that David Pittaway, of Naples, Florida, made the donation because he thinks history departments do not adequately acknowledge military history. The gift will be placed in an endowed fund account, which will ensure permanent funding for the professorship. The first recipient of the professorship is history professor Adrian Lewis, who is a retired U.S. soldier. Pittaway, originally from Kansas City, Kansas, is vice chairman, senior managing director and chief compliance officer of the private equity investment firm Castle Harlan in New York City. Pittaway previously donated to the university to create the David B. Pittaway Director of Debate professorships.
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Live Civil War-Era Cannonball on Display for 20 Years Detonated
PLEASANTON, Kan. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Kansas have detonated a Civil War-era cannonball that had been on public display for two decades before officials determined it was live ordnance. The cannonball had been on display for 20 years at a Pleasanton museum before it was detonated Friday afternoon. The 90-pound cannonball was donated to the Trading Post Museum. It had originally been purchased in the Chesapeake Bay area in the 19th Century. A visitor to the museum noticed a fuse in the cannonball and alerted museum officials that it might still be live. Museum officials contacted authorities, and Fort Riley's Explosives Ordnance Disposal Unit later came out to detonate it in a controlled environment. No one was injured.
