MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Kansas has joined states that have filed a new lawsuit against the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act.

The complaint that Texas, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Indiana, Nebraska and Kansas filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Texas takes issue with the Health Insurance Providers Fee assessed to health insurers to cover federal subsidies.

The lawsuit says nothing in the Affordable Care Act’s language provided clear notice that states would have to pay the fee.

The suit seeks an injunction against the federal rules that say states are responsible for the fee. It also asks for states to be refunded for what they’ve already paid.

The suit says the fee is projected to allow the federal government to collect between $13 billion and $15 billion from states over the next decade.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Adults suffering from a terminal illness would have the legal right to end their own lives under a bill presented to a Nebraska legislative committee. The bill on Wednesday drew emotional support from residents who have watched their loved ones die slow, painful deaths, while some medical professionals opposed it.

Senator Ernie Chambers of Omaha says he introduced the measure to help people on the verge of death end their own lives without suffering needlessly.

If the bill passes, Nebraska would join Montana, Oregon, Washington, Vermont and California in allowing patients to take their own lives.

The legislation would only apply to patients who are believed to have less than six months to live, and patients could rescind the request at any time.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Advocates are lobbying in Jefferson City for Missouri Medicaid to expand access for young adults suffering with mental illness.

The Southeast Missourian reports that members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness are working to establish a waiver that would allow 21- to 35-year-olds to get health care at the first signs of serious mental illness.

The alliance’s executive director, Cindi Keele, says the project was inspired by recent studies that show how effective treatment can be if it begins soon after a person’s first psychotic episode.

Keele said people’s first episodes often land them in the emergency room, but that once they’re stabilized, they have poor chances of receiving effective care.

The campaign is sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health’s Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode program.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The great-grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower will serve as Kansas’ next aviation director.

The Kansas Department of Transportation says Merrill Eisenhower Atwater of Basehor will become part of the agency’s staff in his new job. He will work with the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation groups, as well as overseeing the transportation department’s aviation programs.

Atwater’s last job was national sales director for Housby, a Des Moines, Iowa company that handles Mack and Isuzu truck retail sales, truck maintenance, auctions and more.

Atwater replaces Tiffany Brown, who went to work for the FAA in Denver.

President Eisenhower spent his boyhood in Abilene, where his presidential library is located.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A transgender activist is suing Kansas over its refusal to update her gender on her birth certificate.

Topeka resident Stephanie Mott filed the lawsuit against the Kansas Department of Health and Environment last week.

The Wichita Eagle says KDHE denied Mott’s request to amend her birth certificate to list her gender as female.

The Transgender Law Center says the Kansas agency has made that type of change to birth certificates in the past, but stopped doing so shortly after Governor Sam Brownback took office in 2012.

A KDHE spokeswoman says the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Mott ran unsuccessfully for a vacant seat in the Legislature last year. She says it’s important that her birth certificate reflects her authentic self.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Senate is advancing a proposed ban on state investments in companies with operations in countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism.

Senators gave initial approval Wednesday to the legislation.

The measure is sponsored by Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Glendale. He’s running for state treasurer, whose office oversees how state funds are invested.

The federal government considers Syria, Sudan and Iran to be state sponsors of terrorism. The Missouri treasurer’s office has a policy in place not to invest in companies with operations in those countries, and Schmitt says his bill would make that policy law.

No one spoke against the bill on the Senate floor. It needs a second vote of approval to move to the House.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former southwest Missouri junior high school teacher is facing a federal charge of receiving child pornography over the Internet.

U.S. Attorney Tammy Dickinson says 41-year-old Evert Henry of Lebanon was charged in a grand jury indictment returned on Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Henry was a teacher in the Lebanon R-3 School District during the time of the alleged offense, which was from Jan. 1, 2011, to Jan. 13 of this year.

The Federal Public Defender’s office was assigned Wednesday to represent Henry. An attorney listed on court documents as Henry’s counsel declined to comment.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — All bags brought to ticketed Kansas State University athletic events must be clear starting next school year.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that the goal of the new policy is to provide a safer environment and speedier entry into venues. Many other collegiate programs and professional leagues have already adopted the policy.

Kansas State athletic director John Currie said in a news release that the experience of fans and their safety is a “top priority.”

Besides clear bags, the policy allows small clutch bags and medically necessary items after proper inspection. Football season ticket holders will receive one approved clear plastic bag per account when their season tickets are mailed in August.

Prohibited items include coolers, backpacks, diaper bags, camera bags and seat cushions with pockets and zippers.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A St. Louis police sergeant who won a racial discrimination case over a police academy promotion will be paid the $620,000 he won in a federal lawsuit, plus $172,000 in attorney’s fees.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a federal appeals court has declined to reconsider the case, leaving the city no more chances to appeal.

Sgt. David Bonenberger, who’s white, filed the suit in 2012, saying he was passed over for assistant director. The suit alleged that then-director Lt. Michael Muxo told Bonenberger not to apply for the job because it was going to a black woman under the orders of Lt. Col. Reggie Harris, who’s also black.

Muxo and Harris were found to have conspired to commit discrimination, and an all-white jury awarded Bonenberger $620,000 in damages in 2013.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers are considering whether to allow concealed weapons on public transit.

Republican Sen. Bob Onder told a Senate panel Wednesday that his proposal is about safety. He said public transit can be dangerous, and allowing people to carry concealed guns on buses and trains would deter crime.

Mass transit representatives for St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City opposed the legislation, saying cities should be able to regulate their own public transportation. Kathi Harness said St. Louis’ Metro Transit already contracts nearly 300 police and security guards.

It is currently a felony to carry a concealed weapon on public transit. The bill would not apply to Amtrak trains.

Last year similar legislation passed a House committee but didn’t make it to the floor, and a Senate bill died in committee.