NICHOLAS CLAYTON, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House gave first-round approval to a plan to overhaul the state’s school funding scheme.
The move to advance the bill passed 64-58.

Republican Rep. Amanda Grosserode from Lenexa carried the bill and said that it is possible some votes could change before the chamber takes final action on the bill Friday. The bill will need 63 votes to pass Friday.

The plan incorporates Brownback’s proposal to give districts “block grants” based on their current aid for the next two school years, until lawmakers draft a new formula. He and other Republicans say the current formula is too complex and directs too much away from classroom learning.
Opponents argued that the Legislature is moving too fast on the bill and its impact on schools is still uncertain.

MANHATTAN –Law enforcement authorities in Riley County have made an arrest in connection with Tuesday’s early morning shooting in Ogden.

According to a Press Release Tierre Wall, 26, of Fort Riley was arrested Thursday after turning himself in shortly after walking into a law enforcement center in McDonough, Georgia.

Wall is suspected in the shooting death of Casey Lindley, 27, of Ogden.

Officers were dispatched to a location outside of Ogden at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday to report of a shooting.

Police found Lindley suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a Topeka hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Wall was arrested on a warrant listing the offense of voluntary manslaughter with a bond of $150,000.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A push by business and conservative groups in Kansas to rewrite laws on collective bargaining and public employees unions has stalled for now.

The state Senate Commerce Committee had a hearing Thursday on a bill to prohibit state and local government agencies from deducting union dues from workers’ paychecks.

The committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill restricting collective bargaining between government agencies and their workers.

The committee was set to vote Friday on both measures, but Chairwoman and Olathe Republican Julia Lynn canceled the meeting.

Lynn said she’s not sure when the votes will occur and said House GOP leaders have signaled that they’re reluctant to tackle such issues.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Mark Hutton said he can’t guarantee action on the bills because he hasn’t seen them.

By Kelsie Jennings
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – A bill could create a new classification of vehicles in Kansas known as “autocycles.”

Proponents of House Bill 2044 say autocycles are neither cars nor motorcycles and need their own classification to protect drivers from breaking the law.

Autocycles are three-wheeled vehicles that weight about 1,200 pounds and have seats like a car, but the federal government classifies any vehicle with less than four wheels as a motorcycle. To operate autocycles in Kansas, drivers must have a motorcycle license, but proponents say the motorcycle license test isn’t helpful for operating autocycles because they aren’t driven the same way.

“It’s a requirement that makes absolutely no sense,” said Joel Sheltrown, vice president of governmental affairs for Elio Motors, a Phoenix company that plans to start making autocycles in 2016. “My customer base, a lot of them, don’t have motorcycles licenses and they’re not going to go out and rent a motorcycle, learn how to drive it, go down and take a test just so they can drive our vehicle, especially seniors.”

Sheltrown said about 18 states are working on legislation for autocycles and six states already passed laws for defining autocycles. HB 2044 passed the Kansas House last month by a 123-0 vote.

He said this bill would insure legislation is in place by the time Elio starts making autocycles next year. Otherwise, out-of-state drivers could run into trouble if they drive into a state like Kansas where a motorcycle license is required. He said drivers could face tickets or possibly get their vehicle impounded until they could prove they had a motorcycle license.

Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady (R-Palco) shared the same concern for autocycle drivers coming in from other states.

“If they were cruising down I-70 and pass into Kansas they’d automatically be breaking the law,” he said.

Couture-Lovelady supports the bill and said it wouldn’t have a fiscal effect. He says this industry has potential to grow as the vehicles from Elio would cost about $6,800 and get 84 miles to the gallon on the highway.

“It’s kind of an emerging industry across the country,” Couture-Lovelady said. “There’s a lot of folks that could really benefit from this.”

Sheltrown said there are about a dozen people in Kansas who drive Slingshots, an autocycle made by Polaris. Nationally, he said Elio has more than 40,000 pre-sold reservations on its autocycle.

Sen. Mike Petersen (R-Wichita), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, said it would meet Thursday to discuss the bill and work out senators’ questions.

Kelsie Jennings is a University of Kansas senior from Olathe majoring in journalism.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.)  introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation repealing a portion of Obamacare that prohibits people from using their medical savings account funds to buy over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The bill was cosponsored by Senators Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Angus King (I-Maine).

“This prohibition in Obamacare restricts Americans’ choice and flexibility in how they manage their health care expenses and adds yet another burden on physicians,” said Roberts. “Rather than promoting cost-effectiveness and accessibility, this burdensome provision of Obamacare directs people to potentially more costly, less convenient, and more time-consuming alternatives. It should be repealed, and folks should be allowed to spend their FSAs as they see fit.”

The legislation, S. 709, repeals section 9003 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), restoring the ability of those participating in a medical savings account, such as a Flexible Savings Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA), to use the funds to purchase OTC medications.

Under current law, plan participants may no longer use funds from these accounts to purchase OTC medications, unless they have a prescription for the medication.

Nearly 50 million Americans participate in FSAs and other health savings accounts. The accounts allow individuals to set aside their own money each year on a pre-tax basis to pay for health care expenses, such as co-payments, and other health care expenses not covered by insurance, prescriptions or over-the-counter medications.

Companion legislation was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) and Ron Kind (D-Wis.).

A broad coalition of groups support this legislation, including the AARP, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the American Academy of Dermatology Association, the American College of Physicians, the American Dental Association, the American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Society of Association Executives, Anthem, Inc., the Associated Builders and Contractors Association, the BlueCross BlueShield Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Community Pharmacists Association, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Grocers Association, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Senator Roberts is a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance. He is the co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence woman has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement and ordered to pay $837,000 in restitution to her former employer.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 58-year-old Sharon Ann Holladay, of Lawrence, was sentenced Wednesday for stealing from Westheffer Company. The Lawrence business manufactures and sells agricultural chemical spray equipment.

Holladay was office manager and transferred money from the operations account to a petty cash fund she controlled. She also gave herself unauthorized bonuses and commissions and made unauthorized purchases with the company’s credit card.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is urging Kansas House members to support a plan from top GOP lawmakers ahead of the chamber’s debate on overhauling school funding.

Legislators who drafted the plan up for debate Thursday argue it gives schools predictable funding through the 2016-17 school year.

The plan also would help the state control its costs by junking a per-student aid formula that has forced unanticipated but automatic increases in aid.

The plan gives districts “block grants” based on their current aid for the next two school years, until lawmakers draft a new formula. Brownback and other Republicans say the current formula is too complex and directs too much money away from classroom learning.

But many educators don’t like the plan and defend the current formula as sound.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Agriculture is joining with farm groups to focus public attention on the state’s role in feeding a growing global population.

National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson is headlining an event March 18 at Kansas State University’s Union Little Theatre with a visual journal that aims to highlight the topic “Feeding a Hungry Planet.” The program is part of the state’s celebrations of Kansas Agriculture Month.

A group of Kansas agriculture experts will follow Richardson’s lecture to talk about the state’s agricultural industry. Kansas is the nation’s biggest producer wheat and grain sorghum.