TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas regulators have rejected the proposed sale of the state’s largest electric company to the Missouri-based parent company of KCP&L, for $12.2 billion.

The Kansas Corporation Commission issued an order Wednesday against the proposal from Great Plains Energy of Kansas City, Missouri, to buy Topeka-based Westar Energy.

Critics of the deal argued that Great Plains would be paying as much as $4.9 billion too much. They said the combined company would be so economically fragile that utility regulators would be forced to boost rates for its 1.5 million customers from central Kansas to central Missouri.

Both companies said the acquisition would create nearly $2 billion in efficiencies over the next decade and keep electric rates in check.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s Democratic Auditor Nicole Galloway has issued a subpoena to the state revenue department for information on tax refunds.

Galloway issued the subpoena Wednesday. She told reporters she’s waited six weeks for information on the number of overdue tax refunds and whether the department is meeting the 45-day deadline to issue refunds as required by state law. The Department of Revenue owes interest on refunds that are not paid by then.

Requests for comment from The Associated Press to the Department of Revenue were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Galloway criticized new Republican Gov. Eric Greitens’ administration for lack of transparency. Requests for comment to the governor’s spokesman also were not immediately returned Wednesday.

Galloway said the Department of Revenue has until April 28 to comply with the subpoena.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A woman who says she was sexually assaulted by an unsupervised patient with mental issues at the St. Louis VA is suing the federal government.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the suit says the woman, who was visiting her husband after his surgery at the John Cochran VA Medical Center, was treated “abusively or dismissively” by administrative personnel after the December 2014 assault. It accuses Veteran Affairs officials of failing to heed a 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office that criticized the agency for failing to prevent sexual assaults.

The suit alleges the unsupervised patient fondled himself and tried to pull down the woman’s pants. The suit also says the patient was known to be “problematic and potentially dangerous.”

The suit seeks unspecified damages for negligence.

A message seeking comment was left Wednesday by The Associated Press with a spokeswoman for the St. Louis VA.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Two men have been charged with kidnapping and raping a 22-year-old southwest Missouri woman with autism.

KYTV reports that charges were filed Tuesday in Greene County against 25-year-old Luis Arnold Lopez-Lara and 23-year-old Helmer Alexander Erazo. Charges also are pending against two other men.

Court records say the alleged victim walked away from her home April 15 because she was upset. She was found two days later in a nearby mobile home. The woman told law enforcement she had been held against her will and threatened. She also used anatomically correct drawings to indicate she had been raped.

Lopez-Lara is being held without bond. He’s an immigrant living in the country illegally. Bond for Erazo is set at $150,000. No attorneys are listed for them in online court records.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri House has given initial approval to a proposal that sets stricter requirements for tracking fetal tissue after abortions.

The proposal passed by a voice vote Wednesday. The bill would prohibit anyone from donating fetal tissue from an abortion for scientific purposes. It also sets stricter standards for pathologists to record and file fetal remains after an abortion procedure.

The legislation would require a consenting parent notify a minor’s other custodial parent writing if the child is seeking an abortion.

The parent doesn’t have to notify the other in some circumstances. For example, the custodial parent wouldn’t be notified if he or she had been charged with sexual offenses.

The proposal needs one more vote before it moves to the Senate.

ST. JOHN, Mo. (AP) — Charges have been filed against two people after they were found passed out in a running car with two babies strapped in car seats in the back.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the car was in a left turn lane in June when 29-year-old Terrell Cunningham was found in the driver’s seat and 26-year-old Aleah Poe in the passenger seat. They were charged last week with misdemeanor child endangerment. It wasn’t known if they’re the children’s parents.

Court documents say the car had a strong marijuana smell and that a bag of pills and cigarettes later determined to have marijuana or oxycodone in them were found in Poe’s lap and in her pocket. Poe also faces drug charges.

No attorneys are listed for them in online court records.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas grocery and convenience stores will be able to sell regular beer starting in 2019 after a years-long effort to get full-strength brews into the stores.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill Tuesday allowing grocery and convenience stores to sell beer with up to 6 percent alcohol by volume. They can now sell cereal malt beverage with 3.2 percent alcohol by weight. In exchange, liquor stores will be able to sell cereal malt beverages and more non-alcoholic products, such as shot glasses, mixers, lottery tickets and tobacco products.

The House and Senate passed the bill earlier this month.

Lawmakers have debated the issue for years. Some said they were concerned large grocery chains would put independent liquor stores out of business. But grocery and liquor stores found the compromise.

GREENWOOD, Kan. (AP) — Volunteer firefighters who make up 90 percent of Kansas’ firefighters are in need of additional funding.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Kansas spends about $300,000 at the state level on firefighting, less than almost any other state. This resulted in local firefighters having no extra help to fight the state’s biggest wildfire in March, which burned more than 450,000 acres in Kansas.

Much of volunteer firefighters’ equipment often breaks down when most needed because of old age. Departments end up spending most of their training time repairing trucks because it’s too expensive to replace them.

Kansas State Firefighters Association President Kevin Flory says firefighters get their money from local property taxes, so they would need to better advocate for the departments if they want more funding.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Expect a few more pops and flashes this July Fourth thanks to a final vote on legislation allowing fireworks sales in Iowa.

The bill approved Tuesday 52-40 would legalize consumer-grade fireworks, including bottle rockets, firecrackers and roman candles. The explosives could be sold from June 1 to July 8 and Dec. 10 to Jan. 3. Local governments could forbid firework use, but not the sale.

Gov. Terry Branstad has indicated support for the bill, noting at a press conference that few states remain so restrictive about fireworks.

The nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates sales tax revenue generated from the bill is estimated at $1.5 million for the 2018 fiscal year.

Emergency medical responders have expressed concern for the proposed change, noting the increased risk of injury with widespread firework use.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will use $291 million in internal government borrowing to avoid a deficit in its current budget and pay bills on time through June.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback signed the budget bill into law Tuesday. The measure allows the state to avoid short-term cuts in aid to public schools, social services and other programs.

The state plans to liquidate a special investment fund and loan most of the proceeds to its main bank account to cover general spending before the fiscal year ends on June 30. The loan would be paid back over seven years.

Kansas would still face projected budget shortfalls totaling $989 million for the two years starting in July. However, the gaps could shrink Thursday after state officials and university economists issue new revenue projections.