Fri, Jul 18 2008
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Published May 05, 2008 10:47 pm - TOPEKA, Kan. — A legislative dispute over the budget held up work Monday on the year’s final spending bill and a measure allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas. The Senate convened only briefly, and few members were at the Statehouse. The House met but considered only one minor bill, a measure attempting to settle a water dispute in eastern Douglas County. The inaction gave legislative leaders a chance to work out the two chambers’ differences. Senators expected to debate the coal plants bill Tuesday, but negotiations over the budget didn’t resume Monday night. Kansas budget impasse threatens spending, coal bills The Associated Press
TOPEKA, Kan. — A legislative dispute over the budget held up work Monday on the year’s final spending bill and a measure allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas. The Senate convened only briefly, and few members were at the Statehouse. The House met but considered only one minor bill, a measure attempting to settle a water dispute in eastern Douglas County. The inaction gave legislative leaders a chance to work out the two chambers’ differences. Senators expected to debate the coal plants bill Tuesday, but negotiations over the budget didn’t resume Monday night. “We’re still on hold,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sharon Schwartz, a Washington Republican. Two budget items were at the center of the dispute. They are nearly $40 million in bonds for prison construction and $750,000 for road improvements near the Parsons Army Ammunition Plant. Powerful senators back them, and they’ve been approved in previous legislation. But many House members want them stripped from the budget, viewing them as wasteful spending. Budget negotiators remained unable Saturday to agree. The House adjourned Saturday night, and senators were upset because they wanted to keep working to finish up for the year. Senate leaders then said their chamber may not take up any more business. But that would doom what has become the top priority for House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican, and Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican. It’s a bill to clear the way for the two coal-fired power plants and limit the power of the regulator who has been blocking their construction. “They can blast us all they want to, but there’s right and wrong in this building,” said House Majority Leader Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius already has signed a bill containing most of the $13.6 billion state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Overall spending will increase between $400 million and $455 million, or between 3 percent and 3.4 percent. State government could function without the last spending bill, known as the Omnibus Appropriations Act. But lawmakers likely would face making dozens of changes next year, with the budget half spent. The Senate’s version would shift money around but not increase overall spending. The House’s version adds about $86 million. Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt said House members criticisms of the two projects is designed to pull the focus away from the larger budget picture. “We’ve chosen not to emphasize it, and they’ve chosen not to talk about it,” the Independence Republican said. 
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