TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House committee is drafting a bill to repeal an income tax cut for farmers and business owners championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

The Taxation Committee voted Monday to sponsor the measure. It acted less than three hours after the GOP-controlled Legislature convened its annual session.

Some committee members also said they want lawmakers to pass the bill this month so that the changes could be applied retroactively to Jan. 1. Doing so would allow the state to raise revenues earlier.

Lawmakers must close projected budget shortfalls totaling nearly $1.1 billion through June 2019.

The targeted tax break was enacted in 2012 and is a personal income tax exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. Brownback has strongly defended it as a pro-growth policy.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A 20-year-old man will serve at least 25 years in prison for his role in the death of a Pittsburg State University student.

Brian Bridges was sentenced Monday to life without possibility of parole for 25 years in the 2014 death of Taylor Thomas during a home invasion in Pittsburg.

The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports Bridges pleaded no contest in November to first-degree murder.

Prosecutors say Taylor was shot and killed when Bridges and two other men broke into his home to rob his roommate.

Bridges was later captured in Mexico.

During the hearing, Bridges said in a written statement that he was responsible for Taylor’s death and apologized for his role in it.

Thomas’ father, Tom Thomas Jr., also spoke and called his son’s killing “cowardly.”

CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) — After several delays, a suburban Kansas City woman who is accused of killing her father and his girlfriend is scheduled to go on trial in February.

Susan Van Note, of Lee’s Summit, faces trial on first-degree murder charges in the 2010 deaths of 67-year-old William Van Note and 59-year-old Sharon Dickson. Dickinson died at a lakefront home in Sunrise Beach.

Prosecutors allege William Van Note survived that attack but died when his daughter forged documents to have him taken off life support.

The Camdenton Lake Sun Leader reports the trial is now scheduled to begin Feb. 6, with two weeks set aside to hear the case in Laclede County. The trial has been delayed several times, including a mistrial in June 2015 because of misconduct by potential jurors.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Springfield has approved a new noise ordinance over the objections of an attorney for a street preacher who was arrested after delivering loud sermons downtown.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that backers said the rules approved Monday won’t restrict what people say, only their volume.

Street preacher Aaron Brummitt was charged with multiple municipal ordinance violations in 2013 after a complaint about his amplifying equipment in public spaces. He reached an agreement in 2014 to have his charges deferred. But police have continued to hear complaints since then.

Brummitt’s attorney, Dee Wampler, argued in December that the council was “messing with religious speech.”

Councilwoman Kristi Fulnecky raised similar concerns in casting the sole vote against the ordinance. She said the ordinance could “potentially target religious speech and the First Amendment.”

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri plans to be more aggressive in its approach to ticket sales after finalizing a contract with a sales solution company.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the university finalized Friday the contract with IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions, which will have a 13-person team serving as the school’s outbound ticket sales unit.

The team will work on campus calling potential season-ticket buyers, and complement the university’s ticket operations staff.

The University of Missouri had an average of 52,236 attend its seven home football games in 2016, a nearly 20-percent drop from 2015.

Brian White, the university’s executive associate athletic director for external affairs, says the sales team will likely begin its work in late February.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Wildlife experts are trying to determine whether Kansas’ deer population is contracting an unusual type of contagious foot disease at a higher than average rate.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism is working with the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study lab at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. The question is whether the condition is foot rot and why it appears to be more prevalent.

Counties with reports include Butler, Lyon, Woodson, Neosho, Phillips, Cowley, Wilson, Bourbon, Anderson, Geary, Dickinson, Elk, Osage and Decatur.

Hunters and other members of the public are asked to report any potential cases of foot rot to the wildlife disease coordinator for the state.

MOUNDRIDGE, Kan. (AP) — A mother and son from California who died after falling through ice on a pond in Kansas have been identified as 44-year-old Polly Claassen and 8-year-old Trent Claassen.

Investigators say the woman and her son went through the ice Friday at William Pack Memorial Park in Moundridge.

The boy’s 43-yer-old father was also on the ice when it broke. He was treated and released.

Polly Claassen died at Newton Medical Center and Trent Claassen died at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

The Claassens were visiting from California when the tragedy occurred.

Relatives released a statement late Saturday thanking everyone who helped the Claassen family and the Moundridge community for its support.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — An Overland Park police officer will not face charges after shooting at a man who allegedly rammed a truck into the officer’s vehicle and then turned the vehicle in the officer’s director.

Johnson County Attorney Steve Howe said Monday the officer was justified in firing shots at the man last month. The Kansas City Star reports the man was not injured in the Dec. 21 confrontation.

Casey Lee Smith is charged in Johnson County District Court with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and felony theft.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have opened their annual session to wrestle with the state’s budget problems and consider rolling back income tax cuts championed by Gov. Sam Brownback.

Both the House and Senate convened Monday afternoon for a first day typically long on speeches and ceremony and short on actual business.

But the House Taxation Committee was expected to meet in the afternoon to kick off a debate over tax issues.

The state faces a projected shortfall of $342 million in its current budget and gaps in funding for existing programs totaling $1.1 billion through June 2019.

Kansas has struggled to balance its budgets since the GOP-dominated Legislature slashed income taxes in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging to stimulate the economy. Many voters concluded last year that the effort was a bust.

FLORISSANT, Mo. (AP) — A 13-year-old boy is injured after being accidentally shot by an uncle playing with a gun in St. Louis County.

The shooting happened Sunday night at an apartment complex in north St. Louis County. Police say a 20-year-old man was playing with a gun when it went off, striking the child.

The boy is hospitalized and expected to survive. His name and the name of the uncle have not been released, but police are expected to pursue charges.