TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators are negotiating over the final version of a $15.5 billion state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

But lawmakers aren’t sure when the House and Senate would vote on any agreement.

Three senators and three House members had a second day of talks Tuesday without resolving any major spending issues. They planned to reconvene Wednesday.

They’re discussing dozens of items, but their key differences are on higher education spending and the budget for the state’s court system. Lawmakers in both chambers want to spend up to $3 million to have outside consultants hunt for budget efficiencies.

But negotiators said that if they strike a deal, the House and Senate still may not vote on the plan before lawmakers begin their annual spring break Saturday.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have settled their differences over proposals to change the date of local elections and cancel future presidential primaries.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (https://bit.ly/1G4jOZU ) that three senators and three House members reached agreement Tuesday on the final version of an elections bill.

Both chambers must approve the measure to send it to Gov. Sam Brownback.

The measure would move city and local school board elections to the fall of even-numbered years from the spring of odd-numbered years. Local races would appear on the ballot first.

Supporters say the change will boost turnout in local elections. Critics see no need for change.

The measure also would end presidential primaries. Kansas law schedules them every four years, but lawmakers have canceled each one since 1992, usually because of the cost.

ALAN FRAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the IRS says his agency has eliminated a huge processing backlog of groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Claims by tea party organizations that they were singled out for tough treatment when they applied for that designation were at the heart of a 2013 controversy over the agency.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in prepared remarks at the National Press Club on Tuesday that there once was a backlog of over 60,000 applications for tax-exempt status.

Koskinen says his agency has developed faster processes including a shorter application form. He said that as a result, the IRS inventory of applications is now current.

A conservative legal center leading a federal lawsuit against the IRS says one group it represents is still waiting for an IRS ruling after five years.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas universities would be required to publicize information on their graduates’ average salaries, student loan debt and employment under a bill considered by a House panel.

The House Appropriations Committee conducted a hearing Tuesday on the bill, which supporters say would help prospective students choose a university and major by requiring institutions to provide a “prospectus.” The information would compare the average economic outcomes of their graduates from each degree track.

The Senate already has approved the measure.

Some lawmakers have balked at the potential cost of up to $5.5 million annually and said broader research on such subjects already is available.

Kansas Board of Regents President Andy Tompkins testified against the bill, while no one testified in favor of it during the hearing.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has commuted the sentences of 22 people serving time in federal prison.

The White House says that many of these individuals — all of them convicted of various federal drug crimes — would have already served their time and paid their debt to society had they been sentenced under current laws and policies.

But because many were convicted under now-outdated sentencing guidelines, the White House says they served years longer than individuals convicted of the same crimes today.

The White House says the commutations are in keeping with Obama’s commitment to make the justice system more fair.

With Tuesday’s action, the White House says Obama has granted a total of 43 commutations.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas says it collected $11 million less in taxes than anticipated this month.

The state Department of Revenue said in a preliminary report Tuesday that the state collected $391 million in taxes in March, when it expected to take in $402 million. The shortfall is 2.8 percent.

Since the fiscal year began in July 2014, tax collections have been $48 million less than anticipated, or about 1.2 percent short of expectations. The state collected almost $4 billion in taxes during the past nine months.

The lower-than-anticipated tax collections this month could complicate efforts by legislators to close a budget shortfall projected at nearly $600 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

But the department noted that individual income tax collections are running ahead of expectations.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee has approved a bill that could shrink the state’s civil service system and lessen job protections for government employees.

The Commerce Committee’s endorsement of the measure Tuesday sent it to the Senate for debate. The House passed the bill last week.

The proposal comes from Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and would allow state agencies to remove jobs from the civil service when filling vacancies or when employees accept promotions or transfers.

Supporters contend state agencies would operate more like private businesses and have more flexibility in rewarding employees who perform well.

Public employee groups say the bill would lessen protections from arbitrary firings and demotions.

The Senate committee’s vote was part of a busy day for lawmakers that included budget negotiations between the two chambers.