TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents has appointed a committee to study how legalization of same-sex marriage could affect state universities.

Regent Fred Logan said Wednesday he expects the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a ruling that will “at a minimum” require states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Or he says the court could strike down state bans on the marriages.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  if that happens, universities will have to consider issues including health insurance and benefits for employees and student housing policies.

Several Kansas counties are granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples but the state is not recognizing those marriages.

TAYLOR – The Kansas Highway Patrol worked three fatal accidents on Wednesday.

A Kansas man died in an accident just after 1 p.m. on Wednesday in Neosho County

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Dodge Truck driven by Nicholas Scott Holloway, 34, Chanute, was southbound on U.S.169 five miles south of Taylor.

The vehicle crossed the center lane striking the second and third axel on a northbound semi. The semi jacked knifed in the middle of the roadway.

Holloway was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.

The semi driver from Kentucky was not injured. The KHP reported Holloway was not wearing a seat belt.

On Wednesday afternoon, just before 3 p.m. in Jefferson County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 PT Cruiser driven by Jeanie J. Painter, 59, Winchester, was turning northbound on U.S. 59 in Oskaloosa.

The vehicle pulled out in front of a 2008 Ford F550 driven by Anthony J. Renna, 52, Ozawkie. The Ford struck the PT Cruiser on the driver’s side.

Painter was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Barnett’s Funeral Home. Renna was not injured.

The KHP reported Painter was not wearing a seat belt.

Just after 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Jackson County, the Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Freightliner semi driven by Christopher Smart, 33, Charlotte, was westbound on Kansas 214 at U.S. 75 two miles west of Hoyt.

The truck was attempting to cross U.S. 75, failed to yield at the stop sign and collided with a 2003 Chevy Alero driven by Jacqueline L. Moore, 56, Topeka.

Moore was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to the Shawnee County Coroner’s Office.

A passenger in the Alero Dwayne Laniar Anderson, 54, Norton, was transported to Stormont Vail.

Smart and another passenger in the Alero Shelli I. Zarazua, 50, Topeka, were not injured.

The KHP reported all were properly restrained at the time of the accident.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee is preparing to consider a ban on a procedure used in 8 percent of the abortions performed in the state.

The bill up for debate Thursday in the Public Health and Welfare Committee was drafted by abortion opponents who describe the targeted procedure as dismembering a fetus.

The bill would prohibit a procedure known as dilation and evacuation and designate it in state law as a “dismemberment abortion.” Doctors would not be allowed to use forceps, clamps or other similar instruments to cut up a fetus and remove it from the womb in pieces.

Abortion rights advocates say the procedure is sometimes the safest way to terminate a pregnancy and also is sometimes used during the first trimester.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback supports the measure.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Police in an eastern Kansas community say they have arrested a suspect in the shooting death of a 49-year-old.

A 19-year-old was arrested on a Johnson County warrant for first-degree murder. He’s being held on a $1 million bond.

The Kansas City Star reports Steven L. Sawyer was shot to death on New Year’s Eve morning when he went outside to warm his car.

Police haven’t released a motive yet in the slaying.

The newspaper says the arrest was made in Missouri with the help of the U.S. Marshal’s Service

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is proposing to revise hiring, layoff and termination policies for Kansas government workers and possibly eliminate longevity bonuses for 17,500 employees.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  that the state Department of Administration on Wednesday described the initiatives modernizing state policies.

One proposal that requires the Legislature’s approval would give state agencies broader authority to hire employees into non-civil service positions rather than keep those jobs in the civil service system.

Secretary of Administration Jim Clark said a new policy would emphasize performance rather than seniority in selecting employees to be presented with pink slips and when rehiring occurs.

He said lawmakers will be asked to fund annual longevity bonuses or cancel them, rather than forcing agencies to eat the costs from existing dollars.

NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Commerce is hosting a rural opportunities conference that will highlight rural business and community development.

The agency announced Wednesday that registration is now open for the April 15 event in Newton.

Sessions include a discussion on marketing a community, the next steps on the statewide water plan, and a panel of Humboldt community leaders talking about how they addressed that community’s needs.

Other workshops include such topics as marketing, health, public buildings and succession planning.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are considering changing the way state Supreme Court justices are selected, but lawyers say the move would politicize the court.

The House Judicial Committee conducted a hearing Wednesday on two measures that would amend the Kansas Constitution. One change would select Supreme Court justices in partisan elections, while the other would allow the governor to appoint them.

Representatives of three lawyers’ associations told panel that either change would weaken the independence of the judiciary.

Applicants for Supreme Court vacancies are currently screened by a nominating commission led by attorneys. The commission names three finalists, and the governor picks one.

Any amendment to the constitution must be approved by a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Legislature and passed by a majority in a statewide referendum.