TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has passed a bill abolishing political action committees formed by legislative leaders in both parties after a bitter partisan debate.

Republicans used their supermajority to push the bill through the chamber Thursday on a 31-6 vote, sending the measure to the House.

Democrats opposed the measure, seeing it as an attempt by GOP majorities to hamstring the minority party’s fundraising efforts in a Republican-leaning state. GOP senators said the bill is a good-government measure.

Senate Democrats and House Democrats have leadership PACs.

There’s a Senate Republican PAC, but it’s controlled by GOP moderates, who once led the Senate but were ousted from power in 2012. House Republicans have no PAC.

A 2000 law prohibited legislators from forming new PACs, but it didn’t abolish existing ones.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has given first-round approval to a bill to make police documents explaining the reasons behind arrests open to the public. It would also make affidavits justifying search warrants open to the parties involved.

Legislators advanced the bill Thursday, moving Kansas a step closer to changing what police records remain sealed.

As written, individuals whose homes are searched would have 30 days to request documentation explaining the reason for the search. Kansas is one of the few states that seal probable-cause affidavits. Neighboring Missouri does not.

Prosecutors have objected to the bill, saying it could cost additional time and money for their offices, as well as potentially hindering criminal investigations.

Supporters say the bill provides more accountability and transparency in government.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri senators have passed legislation proposing a truce with Kansas in the battle for businesses in the Kansas City area.

The bill approved 30-2 Thursday would end offers of special tax incentives for businesses to relocate from one side of the border to the other in the metropolitan region.

The measure now goes to the Missouri House. But the truce also would need approval from the Kansas Legislature or governor to take effect.

Over the past five years, Missouri and Kansas have collectively waived hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenues for businesses that moved across the state line.

The Missouri legislation would bar incentives for businesses moving between the Missouri counties of Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass and the Kansas counties of Wyandotte, Johnson, Douglas and Miami.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three cities in the West and three in Ohio are among the eight finalists to host the Republicans’ presidential nominating convention in 2016.

Party leaders will consider the Republican National Committee’s list of potential host cities in the coming months.

The cities are Las Vegas, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Kansas City and three in Ohio — Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

The finalists largely represent swing states that will help decide the 2016 presidential election.

The RNC already is considering several changes to its presidential selection process. GOP officials expect to hold their convention in the early summer of 2016, roughly two months sooner than has become the norm.

Democrats have yet to identify potential convention sites.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two ancient giants that once roamed the area now known as Kansas have earned approval from the House to be designated as the state’s official fossils.

Legislators voted 96-27 on Thursday to name the tylosaurus and the pteranodon (TEAR-un-don) as the official fossils. The creatures join the western meadowlark, ornate box turtle and bison as official state animals and reptiles.

The tylosaurus was a large sea creature that hunted the ocean that covered Kansas more than 80 million years ago. While it patrolled the waters, the pteranodon roamed the skies. Fossils have been found in the chalk hills in western Kansas. Examples of the tylosaurus are on display at museums in Hays and Lawrence.

Supporters say the designation boosts the state’s tradition of being a paleontology treasure trove.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved limits on what state and local government agencies can charge people seeking copies of public records.

The 33-7 vote Thursday sends the measure to the House.

The Kansas Open Records Act allows government agencies to set reasonable fees and charge for the time it takes staff to review and retrieve records. The law isn’t more specific, except to say a copying fee of 25 cents per page is reasonable for state executive branch agencies.

The bill would require agencies to fulfill requests for free if they involve fewer than 25 pages or less than an hour. Otherwise, agencies could charge up to 25 cents a page for copies and up to $60 an hour for staff time if attorneys are involved.

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City woman and her newborn are doing well after the baby girl made a surprise entrance on a busy street.

The open-air birth happened Monday afternoon on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

According to New York’s Fox 5 News, the woman left her building to go to the hospital and her doorman tried to hail a taxi for her. But the baby couldn’t wait, and the woman lowered herself onto the ground in the crosswalk.

One witness told the TV station, “She was like, ‘Oh my God, the baby’s coming.’ ”

Several people stopped to help until police and medics arrived. Women offered scarves to wrap the baby.

An ambulance took the mother and baby to nearby Lenox Hill Hospital. A hospital spokeswoman says they went home Wednesday.