TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee wants to limit the fees charged by state and local agencies when they when fulfill requests to produce public records.

The Federal and State Affairs Committee approved a records-fee bill on a voice vote Thursday, sending the measure to the full Senate for debate.

The state’s Open Records Act says agency fees must be reasonable, but agencies still can demand hundreds of dollars.

The bill says that if a request can be met in less than an hour of staff time or less than 25 pages, the documents are to be provided free of charge. The bill limits fees for copies and staff time after that.

The League of Kansas Municipalities opposes the measure, saying local governments should set fees based on their costs.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An 18-year-old student at an alternative school in Topeka is facing juvenile charges following an attack on a paraprofessional.

The incident happened Wednesday at Capital City School, which serves students with behavioral and emotional issues.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the victim, who is in her 60s, suffered rib and shoulder injuries when she was shoved against a wall. She remained hospitalized in intensive care Thursday.

The female student was booked into the Shawnee County jail on suspicion of aggravated battery and disorderly conduct. She was also reported to have struck another staff member while she was being taken into custody.

MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — American agriculture has experienced a boom, with market values of crops, livestock and total agricultural products reaching record highs even as the amount of U.S. farmland declined.

A new government survey says the number of U.S. farms dropped to 2.1 million in 2012, about a 4 percent drop from five years earlier. But some of the bigger farms got bigger. The average farm grew from 418 to 434 acres.

The survey, taken every five years and released Thursday, shows some growth in nontraditional elements of agriculture. While the industry is still overwhelmingly white, there’s a rise in the number of minority-operated farms.

And there are more farms in New England and many states in the Mountain West, while that number has declined in many states in traditional farm country.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are considering changes in a state energy regulation to balance the interests of utility companies with those who use renewable fuel sources.

At issue is a practice known as net metering, in which individuals or businesses generate their own electricity and sell excess power to a utility company.

During periods of peak demand, credits earned from selling excess power can be used to offset the cost of higher utility bills, such as during summer months.

Senate Utilities Committee Chairman Pat Apple said Thursday lawmakers want to make sure that utility customers aren’t subsidizing the cost of providing energy during peak demand to renewable energy producers.

Committees in both the House and Senate are studying proposals on the issue.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new report ranks the popularity of winter wheat varieties in Kansas.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Thursday that “Everest” continued to be the leading wheat variety seeded in Kansas. It accounts for 14.3 percent of the planted acres for 2014, the same percent as the previous year.

Developed by Kansas State University, Everest topped the list in the eastern two-thirds of the state.

A wheat variety called TAM 111 is the second most popular variety with 11.6 percent of the acreage. It is the leading variety planted in western Kansas.

In third place was the variety called T 158, with 5 percent of the planted acreage.

The wheat variety report is funded by the Kansas Wheat Commission.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An economist says a survey of bankers in 10 Midwest and Plains states suggests the regional economy is losing steam.

The Rural Mainstreet Index dropped below growth neutral in the February survey, hitting 48.4, compared with 50.8 in January and 56.1 in December.

The survey indexes range from 0 to 100, with 50 representing growth neutral. A score above 50 suggests growth in that factor in the months ahead.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the overall index’s decline shows that “areas of the nation highly dependent on agriculture and energy are losing economic steam.”

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 28-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a woman who was struck by his vehicle during a police chase.

Christopher Bradley Stewart also was charged Thursday with felony fleeing to elude police and interference with a law enforcement officer.

Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman says the murder charge was filed because someone was killed during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony.

Police say Stewart was fleeing from police Monday when he ran a stop sign and collided with a car driven by 62-year-old Graciela Olivas of Kansas City, Kan.

Stewart was being held on $1 million bond. Gorman’s office wasn’t sure if he had obtained an attorney.

Stewart was scheduled to make a first appearance on Friday.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a bill making a minimum of 50 years in prison the presumed sentence instead of an option for juries to consider for premeditated, first-degree murder.

The 35-3 vote Thursday sends the measure to the House.

The measure would be the second major revision of the “Hard 50” law within a year.

Lawmakers had a special session in September to ensure that juries rather than judges weighed the evidence on whether the sentence should be imposed. The U.S. Supreme Court had said in a Virginia case that juries must decide.

Kansas law now says a defendant convicted of premeditated first-degree murder serves at least 25 years unless a jury recommends otherwise.

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce said the 50-year sentence is more just.