By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A ruling from Kansas’ highest court could force the state Senate to vote on a nominee for a lower-court judgeship whose nomination was withdrawn because of his political tweets.

The state Supreme Court waded Thursday into an unprecedented legal dispute between Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and the GOP-controlled state Senate’s top Republican over filling a vacancy on the Kansas Court of Appeals, the state’s second-highest court. The two disagree over whether the governor can submit a new nominee to the Senate for possible confirmation.

Kelly withdrew Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack’s appeals-court nomination within a few days of announcing it in March after political posts on his Twitter feed came to light. They included criticism and vulgar language about President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

A 2013 law says that if governor fails to make an appeals court nomination within 60 days of a vacancy, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss makes the appointment. Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, contends that Jack’s withdrawal means Kelly failed to make a proper nomination in time. The deadline was March 15.

Kelly points to another part of the law that says if the Senate rejects a nominee, the governor names another. Kelly argues that the Senate rejected Jack’s nomination even though it failed to have even a committee hearing on him.

The law doesn’t say specifically what happens if a nomination is withdrawn, and Attorney General Derek Schmidt, also a Republican, filed a lawsuit against Kelly, Nuss and the Senate to resolve the dispute. Six of the Supreme Court justices and a substitute for Nuss, who removed himself, spent nearly two hours hearing arguments and questioning attorneys.

A majority of the justices suggested that they could declare that the law did not give Kelly — or Jack, for that matter — the authority to withdraw Jack’s nomination. To keep Jack off the appeals court, the Senate then would have to reject his nomination. Kelly would get a second choice.

“Isn’t that scenario the one that makes the most sense out of the statute, that there just isn’t a mechanism for withdrawal, period?” Justice Caleb Stegall said while questioning attorneys.

The Supreme Court did not say when it would rule, but legislators hoped to have a decision within days. Legislators wrapped up most of their business for the year over the weekend, but GOP leaders, anticipating the need to deal with the Court of Appeals appointment, scheduled a Senate session for Tuesday.

“We’re here for one reason, and that is that the governor gave us a nominee that was absolutely unacceptable to the Senate, and clearly that nominee wasn’t vetted,” Wagle said after the Supreme Court’s hearing.

Kelly has already named another nominee for the Court of Appeals vacancy, Sarah Warner, a 39–year-old Kansas City-area attorney. The vacancy initially was created when longtime Appeals Court Judge Patrick McAnany retired on the day Kelly took office in January.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat and Kelly ally, said forcing a vote on Jack’s nomination would be “an exercise in futility.” He said he doubts Jack’s confirmation would receive a single vote in the 40-member Senate.

“It makes absolutely no sense that we would be put in that position, but if that’s what the court decides, then we’re going to have to be forced to have a vote,” Hensley said.

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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri House Republicans on Thursday backed away from a budget compromise that would allow colleges and universities to charge in-state tuition to students living in the U.S. illegally.

The GOP-led House voted 110-43 against the deal. That means a panel of House and Senate lawmakers will get another shot to negotiate on the policy, which is included in the proposed state budget for public higher education.

Lawmakers face a Friday deadline to pass a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins in July.

Missouri lawmakers previously put restrictions on the use of state dollars for tuition for students “with an unlawful immigration status.” Because of that, schools face losing state funding if they offer those students anything less than the tuition rate charged to international students.

Members of a 10-person panel of bipartisan negotiators this week agreed to end that policy. But the move spurred outrage among House Republicans, who voted it down on the House floor.

“We only have so much money to allocate to state subsidies for higher education,” Springfield Republican Rep. Curtis Trent said. “Why should that not go to the people who live here, who pay taxes here, who have followed the rules and obeyed the laws of the land?”

St. Peters Republican Rep. Phil Christofanelli said House lawmakers would be willing to vote down the entire public higher education budget to protest the tuition provision.

“I will never vote to fund an illegal immigrant education in our state’s budget,” Christofanelli said.

Missouri is one of six states that blocks in-state tuition for students living in the country illegally, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Actions by lawmakers in 16 states allow in-state tuition, and five more states provide for that through state university systems.

The latest version of Missouri’s higher education budget still includes a ban on colleges providing scholarships to students living in the country illegally.

Democrats slammed efforts to undo the compromise.

Columbia Democratic Rep. Kip Kendrick told colleagues during debate on the House floor that he once had to inform a single parent working two part-time jobs that she would have to pay international tuition and she “started bawling, because she understood that higher education, a way out of poverty, was unattainable.”

“It broke my heart, because this is a person that’s done everything we ask of anyone: pulling themselves up by the bootstraps, working hard (and) really trying to become the best person that she can be,” he said. “She was brought to this country when she was 1 year old by her parents. That was not a decision of her own.”

Lawmakers’ roughly $30 billion budget proposal includes an additional $61 million in core K-12 public school funding, and colleges and universities are set to get at least $1 million more compared to this year.

Lawmakers ditched Gov. Mike Parson’s original plan to borrow $350 million to fix 250 bridges across the state. Instead, they agreed to spend $50 million in un-earmarked general revenue on bridge repairs next fiscal year, plus another $50 million for a local cost-share program.

If the state gets a federal infrastructure grant to help pay to fix an Interstate 70 bridge in the mid-Missouri city of Rocheport, that would kick in another roughly $300 million in bonding under another pending proposal.

WENTZVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and state lawmakers are considering an incentives package offering General Motors up to $50 million for expansion of an eastern Missouri plant that makes trucks and vans.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the package would include up to $25 million in tax credits if GM makes at least $500 million in improvements to its Wentzville plant within three years. If GM makes an additional $250 million in improvements, it could qualify for another $25 million in tax credits.

Parson, a Republican, also wants lawmakers to approve other elements of his economic development plan, which could include matching funds to help local governments improve infrastructure near the plant.

State officials cited urgency in the proposal since the Legislature adjourns May 17 and also because Missouri is competing with other, unnamed states for the expansion.

The legislation does not mention if any new jobs would be created or how many. GM builds the Chevrolet Colorado, Chevrolet Express Cargo Van, GMC Canyon pickup trucks, and GMC Savana full-size vans in Wentzville. The plant employs about 3,500 workers.

GM spokesman Darri’n Hardy said several factors go into expansion decisions, “including the overall business case for a project, discussions with state and local community officials and discussions with the UAW.”

“GM leadership is awaiting outcomes on these three elements of the business case before making any final decisions regarding potential investment,” Hardy said.

State officials contend that a similar package of incentives approved in 2014 led to larger-than-expected investments in expanding a Ford Motor Co. plant near Kansas City. Missouri Department of Economic Development spokeswoman Maggie Kost said Ford ultimately invested $473 million and retained 3,850 jobs that paid, on average, $84,030.

“Since then, that plant has continued to grow, and we know from subsequent work with them, that they’ve since created more than 3,000 new jobs and are projected to invest an additional $100 million,” Kost said. “So we’ve seen from past experience that job retention and plant upgrades can set the company up for significant job creation down the road.”

By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Supreme Court that has repeatedly forced state legislators to increase spending on public schools directed tough questions Thursday to an attorney attacking a new funding law as inadequate, with one justice wondering when the protracted legal battle would be “crossing the finish line.”

The court had pointed questions for both the state’s attorney and a lawyer for four school districts suing the state as the justices reviewed the new law, which increases education funding by roughly $90 million a year. But in hearings over the past six years, the justices have directed their toughest questions at the state’s lawyer.

The tone Thursday was different enough that the state’s Republican attorney general was encouraged after watching the arguments.

Comments from two justices who have pushed lawmakers to boost spending suggested that they want to find a way to end the lawsuit and remove the high court from annual school funding debates. The four districts sued the state in 2010, and the court has promised its next ruling before July.

Chief Justice Lawton Nuss pointed to criticism that the court has acted as a “super-Legislature.”

Justice Eric Rosen noted that for most of his 14 years on the court, the state has been in litigation over whether it is spending enough money on schools and distributing it fairly enough to satisfy the Kansas Constitution.

“Is there ever crossing the finish line in these types of cases?” Rosen asked Alan Rupe, the attorney for the school districts. “… Is this just indefinite?”

When Rupe answered, “I don’t think so,” Rosen shot back, “Well, tell me why … Where does this ever end?”

The new school funding law contains Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan for addressing a Supreme Court order last year that said education funding still wasn’t sufficient to finance a suitable education for every child, as the state constitution requires. The measure passed the Republican-led Legislature with bipartisan support and was based on recommendations from the GOP-controlled State Board of Education.

State officials hoped the broad support for the new law would persuade the Supreme Court to accept it. State Solicitor General Toby Crouse even suggested that the justices should dismiss the lawsuit.

That led to the sharpest exchange between Crouse and the court, with Justice Dan Biles, a former state school board attorney. The four districts sued after the state backtracked on past funding promises following the Great Recession. Biles said the Legislature “reneged.”

He told Crouse: “I’ve got to tell you, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the idea of dismissing this lawsuit.”

The Supreme Court has issued six rulings directing lawmakers to increase the state’s spending on public schools in a little more than five years, so that aid to public schools tops $4 billion a year — about $1 billion more than it did for the 2013-14 school year. The court said in its order last year that a 2018 law promising additional funding increases into the future wasn’t sufficient because it hadn’t accounted for inflation.

The four school districts argue that the state botched what was a straightforward math problem of accounting for inflation. They contend it requires increasingly larger amounts of money each year through the 2022-23 school year. Under their calculations, the increase for that year would be about $360 million instead of the roughly $90 million under Kelly’s proposal.

“They’re not reaching the target,” Rupe said.

Four justices repeatedly questioned Crouse about the state’s math, and he repeatedly said officials were following the court’s guidance in its opinion last year. But in questioning Rupe, Rosen suggested that the school districts had adopted a standard of “you know it when you see it” to determine whether funding is adequate.

“I was encouraged by the tone of the court’s interaction with counsel, especially the plaintiffs’ (school districts”) counsel, in this case,” said state Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

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Update 4:15p.m.

MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Police and Riley County Police Department continue their investigation of shots that were fired around 11 a.m. Thursday at the KSU Foundation Building at Kimball and Denison avenues. There were no injuries and there is no ongoing threat.

According to K-State Police, the situation involved a dispute between individuals that appears to be unrelated to the Manhattan campus. The original contact between them occurred on the east side of Manhattan off campus and continued to the parking lot north of the KSU Foundation Building, where shots were fired. After the shooting, the victim, who is not a student, drove to Riley County Police Department to report the incident.

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Update 1:15p.m.

MANHATTAN —Kansas State University officials have confirmed that shots were fired at a parking lot on campus but that no injuries have been reported and there is “no ongoing threat.”

University spokesman Jeff Morris says the shots were fired around 11 a.m. Thursday in a parking lot north of the Foundation Building, where fundraising efforts are organized. No vehicle damage was reported.

Morris says officers rushed over from the nearby university police station and locked down the building while they investigated. The university initially ordered people in the area to shelter in place.

Morris says authorities haven’t made any arrests and are interviewing witnesses. He said he had no other details about the shooting.

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MANHATTAN —Authorities are investigating a report of possible shots fired at the Foundation Building at Kimball and Dennison in Manhattan, according to a campus alert.

The original alert asked employees to shelter in place.

A short time later, the K-State Police Department reported the Scene was safe and there were no injuries.

They did ask the public to avoid the area to allow officers to investigate the incident.

Just after noon, the foundation staff was allowed resume normal work, according to an updated campus alert.

Just after 12:30p.m., police reported they had cleared the scene, completed a preliminary investigation of the incident and released the scene for normal activity, according to the police twitter account.

Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

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MANHATTAN —Authorities are investigating a report of possible shots fired at the Foundation Building at Kimball and Dennison in Manhattan, according to a campus alert.

The Scene is safe. No injuries are reported. Authorities asked that the public avoid the area to allow officers to investigate the incident.

Foundation staff are being allowed resume normal work, according to a campus alert.

Authorities released no additional detail late morning Thursday.

Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has flown over flooded areas in the eastern part of the state as waters recede before another crest.

In #STL today with local leaders from @sccmo, @SaintLouCo, & @CityEMA touring the Mississippi & Missouri River flooding from the sky. As the rivers crest, we will continue to monitor the rivers and prep for recovery. #MOFlood pic.twitter.com/BgXyVWgOiC

— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) May 8, 2019

Parson’s aerial survey of the area left Wednesday from St. Louis Lambert International Airport and initially went south toward River Des Peres. The U.S. Army helicopter then circled north to St. Charles County, where floodplains near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers are inundated. Some levees have succumbed, closing roads and forcing people from their homes.

After the flight, Parson told officials that the state is trying to assist. Flooding has been a persistent problem in Missouri in recent years. Parson says the state wants to be part of the discussion “about how these rivers are changing.”

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Legislation that could thwart a large wind-energy power line has hit a roadblock in the Missouri Senate.

Senators were unable to come to a vote late Wednesday on a bill prohibiting the use of eminent domain to acquire easement rights for the Grain Belt Express power line. Democratic senators who support the project slowed debate on the bill.

The high-voltage power line is to carry wind energy from Kansas across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into a power grid in Indiana that serves eastern states.

Missouri utility regulators granted approval earlier this year, which could let developers pursue condemnation if landowners won’t sell easements.