TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House members are uneasy about a proposal to allow parents to temporarily give up custody of their children to others as an alternative to putting the youngsters into foster homes overseen by the state.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the proposal emerged from negotiations between the House and Senate. But the House rejected the measure and its move forces additional negotiations if a bill is to pass this year.

Supporters said the bill would set up a less expensive alternative to foster care by allowing parents to designate someone they trust to care for their children for up to a year.

But critics said the system would be unregulated and the risk of troubled parents giving custody to irresponsible adults would be too high.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita elementary school was evacuated on the last day of the school year because staff members detected a gas odor.

The Wichita Eagle reports Parents of students at Riverside Elementary School were alerted of the incident by the school’s principal Thursday. Students were taken to nearby Riverside Christian Church.

The school was not reopened Thursday. If the school is cleared, it will be reopened Friday for parents to pick up their children’s items.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman accused of stealing more than $1.2 million from a company which owns assisted living centers in Kansas and Missouri is expected to change her plea next month.

A court filing on Thursday shows Lori Shryock of Augusta is scheduled for change-of-plea hearing on June 8.

Her husband, Brent Shryock, was the former information systems director for Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America where he was in charge of purchasing equipment. He pleaded guilty earlier this month to mail fraud in a deal with prosecutors for a proposed 36-month prison sentence.

Prosecutors say the couple created four fictitious companies to submit fraudulent invoices. Among them was LGR Technology, which stood for Let’s Get Rich Technology.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee has reviewed a proposal to impose a new fee on insurance policies sold through an online marketplace set up under the federal health care overhaul.

But The Topeka Capital Journal reports that representatives of insurance companies and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce provided testimony against the bill to the Ways and Means Committee.

The measure would set a fee equal to 3.5 percent of each policy’s premium to raise about $20 million annually.

Republican Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook of Shawnee said the measure would help the state recoup extra costs arising from the 2010 federal health care law.

The bill’s opponents said the bill would raise costs on other policies because federal law requires the same prices for similar policies sold off the exchange.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today held a business meeting and passed the “U.S. Grains Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015,” which authorizes USDA’s Federal Grain Inspection Service to establish marketing standards and conduct inspection and weighing for a variety of grains and oilseeds. The Act was last reauthorized in 2005.

“This bipartisan legislation provides much needed transparency and predictability throughout the federal grain inspection system to prevent future export disruptions – like we saw at the Port of Vancouver last summer,” Chairman Roberts said. “I look forward to this being the first of many bipartisan bills that will pass through the Agriculture Committee this Congress.”

“The United States is the world leader in agricultural exports,” Ranking Member Stabenow said. “Whether its Michigan soybeans or Kansas wheat, our nation’s farmers grow the highest quality products available. That’s why we must have a robust federal grain inspection system to back the integrity of our exports. This bipartisan bill does just that, and I thank Chairman Roberts for his partnership in developing this legislation. I urge my colleagues to pass this commonsense legislation as soon as possible.”

Introduced by Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., this bipartisan legislation reauthorizes provisions of the U.S. Grain Standards Act until Sept. 30, 2020. It reaffirms the role of the federal inspection service and requires the Secretary of Agriculture to immediately take action to maintain export inspection and notify Congress in the case of a disruption. Additionally, it creates a transparent certification process for delegated state agencies inspecting exports. The legislation also requires the Secretary of Agriculture to report to Congress on the 2014 disruption in grain export inspections, as well as additional measures.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Negotiators for the Kansas House and Senate have agreed on a proposed budget that would limit increases in tuition at state universities.

The three senators and three House members finished their work Thursday evening. Their plan would allow state government to spend about $15.5 billion from all sources during the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The negotiators’ plan would keep spending on the state’s higher education system flat during the next fiscal year, avoiding reductions even with a projected budget shortfall. Lawmakers are considering tax increases.

But the budget agreement calls for preventing the state Board of Regents from increasing tuition at state universities more than 2 percentage points above inflation as measured by the consumer price index. The figure would have been 2.8 percent for 2014.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has confirmed the appointment of a former majority leader to a new term on the state commission that regulates utilities.

The Senate’s vote Thursday was 37-0 on Gov. Sam Brownback’s reappointment of former state Sen. Jay Emler to the Kansas Corporation Commission. Emler’s new term will expire in March 2019.

Emler served 14 years in the Senate as a Lindsborg Republican before Brownback appointed him to fill a vacancy on the KCC last year. He is a former Senate Utilities Committee chairman and served as majority leader in 2011 and 2012.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a bill aimed at allowing the state to enforce a ban on what critics call “webcam” abortions.

The Senate’s 39-0 vote sends the measure to the House.

The bill makes technical changes in a provision in a 2011 law enacting health and safety regulations specifically for abortion providers. The state hasn’t been able to enforce the law because two providers filed a lawsuit in Shawnee County District Court against it.

The measure addresses legal issues in the lawsuit. There has been no opposition to the bill.

The measure modifies a provision of the law requiring a doctor who provides an abortion-inducing drug to be in the same room when a patient takes it. Among other things, the bill creates an exception for medical emergencies.

TOPEKA- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 2 p.m. on Thursday in Shawnee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2016 Honda driven by Matthew Martinez, 21, Fort Riley, was westbound on Kansas 4 two miles west of Topeka at a high rate of speed.

The driver lost control, rolled the bike and was ejected through a mailbox.

Martinez was transported to Stormont Vail.
He was wearing a helmet according to the KHP

DETROIT (AP) — Exploding air bags made by Takata Corp. are so dangerous that U.S. safety regulators want to manage a massive recall so cars can be fixed faster.

On Tuesday Takata doubled the size of its recall to 33.8 million air bags, making it the largest recall in U.S. history.

The air bags can inflate with too much force, sending metal shrapnel into drivers and passengers. So far the problem has caused six deaths worldwide.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the recall involving 11 manufacturers has created a patchwork of solutions that may not fix the problem fast enough.

The agency has started the legal process seeking to control production and delivery of replacement inflators. It would be the first time the agency has used the power.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has approved a measure that would move local elections to the fall in odd-numbered years.

The chamber voted 64-58 Thursday to send the bill to the governor.

Supporters say the move would boost voter turnout because people are used to voting in the fall. Critics say it would force elected school board members to take office in the middle of fiscal years, which could disrupt the budgeting process.

The measure also would cancel the state’s presidential primaries. Legislators have canceled the past five primaries because of their cost, opting for caucuses funded by the Republican and Democratic parties.

The bill also would bar general election candidates from dropping out of a race unless experiencing “severe medical hardship.”