WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Gun rights advocates in Kansas are divided on a bill that would allow people to carry a concealed gun without a permit.

The Wichita Eagle reports that if the bill passes, people will also be able to carry a concealed gun without the training that a permit requires. The bill will not extend to anyone under 21, unless they are on their own property.

Some gun supporters say that critics are just looking for something to critique, and that it will give added protection to people who use guns wisely. Other advocates have misgivings about the section of the bill that eliminates training.

The bill was introduced by republican Sen. Terry Bruce after three years of research to make sure it would stand up to the scrutiny of the courts and the public. Bruce says he has received more emails of support than not for the bill.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Chamber of Commerce and a small-government think tank are supporting a plan from Republican lawmakers to overhaul how the state distributes aid to its public schools.

But the chamber’s CEO and a lobbyist for the Kansas Policy Institute were the only witnesses testifying in favor of the plan Monday when the House Appropriations Committee opened hearings.

School district officials and education groups testified against the plan to jettison the state’s current school funding formula and give districts “block grants” based on their current aid.

The new system would remain in place while legislators create a new school funding formula.

Chamber President and CEO Mike O’Neal said the current formula doesn’t get enough money into classrooms.

But educators said the formula responds quickly to changes in student populations.

NEW YORK (AP) — The three largest credit reporting agencies will change the way they handle records in a major revamp long sought by consumer advocates.

Medical debts won’t be reported until after a 180-day waiting period to allow time for insurance payments to be applied. People who contest items in their credit reports will receive additional information concerning their dispute, including instructions on what they can do if they don’t like the answer they get.

The plan is intended to provide people with more transparency and more simple navigation when dealing with the bureaus that hold their credit reports.

The changes were announced Monday after talks between Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The consumer assistance plan will begin to be implemented over the next several months.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence man is catching the eye of other motorists with his custom-built Batmobile.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Rich Johnson has been restoring cars for more than 25 years and can be seen driving the car in parades or around Lawrence.

Johnson, who used to watch Batman’s adventures on TV when he was a kid, had begun working on the car after learning that a man from Ohio had a mold of the original Batmobile in 2012. Johnson asked the man to create a fiberglass shell of the car for him.

It took Johnson over five months to construct his own Batmobile that’s painted black with red pinstripes and Batman logos on its doors. Johnson’s car made its debut in 2013 at a pre-party for an annual city parade.

By Kelsie Jennings
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA — The city of Wichita has proposed a bill that would help Kansas cities establish arts and culture districts by giving them a property tax credit for 10 years.

Proponents of the bill said the promotion of arts and culture will have economic benefits and encourage young people to stay in the state.

In House Bill 2368 the amount of the tax credit would be a percentage of the assessed tax value of the property. The maximum percentage would be 80 percent for the first five years, 70 percent for the sixth year, 60 percent for the seventh year and so forth through 10 years. However, percentages would be up to each city to decide.

John D’Angelo, director of the Division of Arts and Cultural Services in Wichita, spoke of the vibrant art district in the city. He said the art districts have drawn in other businesses to those areas because of the locations’ popularity, and artists tend to take their art to affordable areas. He also said the city of Wichita has invested in developments near its art districts, so it would like to protect those investments by protecting the art districts.

“The intent is to give artists tax relief or, in the case of Topeka, to give the property owners some tax relief as a way for them to continue to invest in that development,” D’Angelo said. “What we find is they just reinvest. What they’re going to do is take that money and use it again.”

D’Angelo said Wichita officials do not know exactly how much tax revenue the arts districts generates, but said the non-profit sector employs about 2,000 people.

The bill’s fiscal note says that passage of HB 2368 would potentially result in less tax revenue for the Educational Building Fund and the State Institutions Building Fund. Also, the bill would decrease the amount of property tax revenues school districts receive through the state’s uniform mill levy.

A couple Kansas artists spoke in support of the bill, as well as some members of NOTO Arts District of North Topeka. NOTO has art galleries and studios, tattoo artists, boutiques, as well as restaurants and bars.

Mikki Burcher, a member of NOTO, said there aren’t just economic benefits of increasing business revenue but arts districts also play a vital role in keeping young people in Kansas by giving them reasons to stay.

“These cultural centers are the types of things that people my age, the millennials, crave. This is where we want to be. This is where we want to learn,” Burcher said. “These are the areas that we go to have fun, to congregate, to learn, to talk to each other. They’re critical to attracting young professionals to our state.”

Burcher said she doesn’t think legislation like this was really pushed before because these art districts typically grow over time on their own and people are just now realizing how valuable they are to communities. She said even though some of the art districts have been successful, they’re having a hard time growing past the initial success.

“Now that they’re past their infancy and they’ve had some measure of success, they’re struggling with sustainability and that’s why this is important at this point and time,” Burcher said. “We need to make sure that that successful district stays there.”

Rep. Steve Brunk (R-Wichita), chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, said if the bill is passed, each city, along with its county and school district jurisdictions, would have to agree before it could happen in their community.

Brunk said the committee will discuss the bill at a later date, but didn’t have a specific time.

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

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A newspaper analysis has found that a proposal for changing how Kansas public schools are funded appears to cut money from most of the state’s poorest school districts while protecting the wealthiest.

The Topeka Capital-Journal examined the effect of a proposal to use block grants to distribute money instead of the state’s existing per-student formula. The review found that many of the reductions in the plan are achieved by shrinking a type of state aid meant to help less wealthy school districts that aren’t able to raise as much money with property taxes.

The newspaper says it appears 90 percent of the state’s richest districts would gain state aid for operational expenses under the plan. But 80 percent of the poorest districts would lose money, about $170,000 on average.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City hotel owner who illegally hired immigrants to cut labor costs soon will learn his punishment in a case that highlights a shift by the government in its handling of immigration-related cases.

The government is seeking a 27-month sentence for Munir Ahmad Chaudary  at a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas. He and his wife pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage immigrants to reside unlawfully in the United States.

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says the case should “serve as an alarm” to anybody doing it that there are consequences.

Chaudary’s wife, Rhonda R. Bridge, was sentenced last month to 21 months in prison. The government seized their hotels and their bank accounts.