TOPEKA – After a deadlock that lasted several hours the House and Senate agreed on a series of bills they would pass to finish the session early Saturday:
The bills would:
–Allow local school districts to keep local funding levels regardless of changes in state funding.
–Protect state employee pay by prohibiting state agencies from moving money intended for salaries into accounts used for programs.
–Bar future “snake annexations,” such as one Mulvane used to annex property for a casino site along the Kansas Turnpike. Unlike previous efforts, Senate Bill 51, is not retroactive. It goes into effect July 1. The bill passed 23 to 11 in the Senate.
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TOPEKA – A measure retroactively blocking a “snaking annexation” used by Mulvane to incorporate land for a casino passed the House.
House Bill 2084, passed 113-9 on final action vote Monday. It now goes to the Senate.
Reps. Vince Wetta, a Wellington Democrat, and Pete DeGraaf, a Mulvane Republican, sponsored the measure. DeGraaf has opposed the casino and Wetta wants to see the casino constructed in Wellington.
Mulvane officials connected the proposed casino site to the city via a meandering, narrow strip of land. A suit Sumner County filed against the city over the annexation is in court. The bill is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008.
The measure now goes to the Senate.