WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been released from the Sedgwick County Jail after spending 4½ years waiting for a trial in a sexual predator case.

Forty-five-year-old Todd Ellison was supposed to go to trial next week to determine whether he should be held for life as a sexual predator.

Instead, District Judge Ben Burgess released Ellison Friday, saying his right to a speedy trial had been violated.

The Wichita Eagle reports Ellison completed a sentence for sexual crimes involving children from cases in 1996 and 1997. When he was about to be released in 2009, prosecutors filed a petition to argue that he might be determined to be a sexually violent predator.

Ellison fought the allegation since then, although he says the state also delayed hearings in the case.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A proposal to start the Kansas State Fair on Labor Day weekend wasn’t popular with people who responded to a survey.

Nearly 75 percent of 2,500 people responding to a survey conducted by University of Kansas Jayhawk Consulting either disagreed or strongly disagreed with Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to move the fair’s starting date. Only 11 percent agreed with the idea, with the rest neither agreed nor disagreed.

The Hutchinson News reports  more than half of the respondents said they probably would not attend the 10-day fair if the dates changed.

Brownback had suggested that moving the date would increase attendance at the fair.

However, some fair officials said many Kansans go to state parks and other events on Labor Day, rather than to the state fair.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A proposal designed to allow Kansas to opt out of the federal health care overhaul is being reviewed by a state House committee.

The Federal and State Affairs Committee’s hearing Tuesday was on a bill that brings Kansas into a compact among states to take control of health care policy within their borders.

Most Republican lawmakers and GOP Gov. Sam Brownback have been highly critical of the federal health law championed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

The compact is the project of Competitive Governance Action. The conservative Texas-based group says on its website that it favors the devolution of government power.

Congress would have to approve the compact and cede power to the states on health care. Compact supporters think that’s a possibility if Republicans control both chambers.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas residents are being urged to act cautiously with outdoor burning as the state marks a week of awareness of the dangers of wildfires.

Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a proclamation declaring this Wildfire Awareness Week.

The state fire marshal’s office said in a news release Monday that Kansas had more than 3,200 vegetation fires last year, resulting in more than $4 million in property damage and losses and six injuries.

The fire marshal also says those fires burned more than 125,000 acres of land.

Brownback’s proclamation says preventing wildfires is a public safety issue affecting all of Kansas, not just rural areas. Residents are urged to follow posted guidelines for outdoor burning and avoid dangerous use of fireworks.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle has created a special committee to review issues surrounding the state Public Employees Retirement System.

Wagle named nine senators to the panel Monday. Its chairman is Independence Republican and Senate Vice President Jeff King, and its vice chairman is Emporia Republican Jeff Longbine.

The Senate doesn’t have a standing committee on pensions, as the House does. The House committee is reviewing multiple pension issues, including a proposal to start a 401(k)-style plan for new public employees.

The other Republicans on the Senate panel are Elaine Bowers of Concordia, Jim Denning of Overland Park, Mitch Holmes of St. John, Forrest Knox of Altoona and Ty Masterson of Andover.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley and Laura Kelly are the committee’s Democratic members. Both are from Topeka.