TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill restoring a small business tax break has advanced in the Kansas Senate despite concerns that the money may be needed to fund public schools.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the measure received first-round approval Wednesday.

It would allow individual tax filers who run their own businesses to deduct the costs incurred when placing certain tangible property and computer software into service. It was repealed as part of the 2012 tax overhaul that eliminated all taxes on income derived from those people’s business operations. When lawmakers reversed that tax policy last year, the deduction wasn’t restored.

School funding uncertainty kept some senators from supporting it. The Revenue Department estimates the tax break would cost $21 million in the upcoming fiscal year, and about $10 million each year after that.

LYON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two Kansas teens on burglary and drug charges.

On Wednesday, USD 251 Superintendent Aron Dody called the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office and advised he found a firearm inside a student’s vehicle located at Northern Heights High School, according to Sgt. Jacob Welsh.

During the investigation it was found that the firearm was stolen from a vehicle in Americus, Kansas.

Deputies arrested the student, Jace Sull, 18, Americas, Kan, for possession of a firearm on school grounds and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.

Sull was arrested for 3 counts burglary to a vehicle, 2 counts of theft, 1 count of attempted theft, 1 count of conspiracy, 1 count of criminal damage to property, 1 count of criminal use of weapons on school property, 1 count of possession of marijuana and 1 count of possession of paraphernalia.

By BRIAN GRIMMETT

The Trump administration remains unlikely to back off its plans to ease Obama era restrictions that make it harder for utility companies to burn coal.

Likewise, the federal courts may eventually decide what pollution rules the Environmental Protection Agency can enforce on energy production.

Yet, still, scores of people testified Wednesday in Kansas City about efforts to repeal the controversial Clean Power Plan. The current administration wants to dump it. The previous administration believed it was needed to protect the environment from air pollution and global carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

EPA officials listened to people from around the region during sessions set up for various factions to vent on a hot-button issue.

Cheryl Marcum drove more than two and a half hours on icy roads from Stockton, Mo., where her home relies on solar power. She wants the Obama rules to stick.

“They can do what’s right or we will just stay on their cases until we protect our planet,” she said.

The Obama era plan puts tougher regulations on coal-fired power plants in an effort to force states towards cleaner sources of energy. More than two dozen states challenged the plan in federal court. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately issued a stay, preventing the agency from enforcing it.

The Trump White House contends that administrative rules created under the Clean Power Plan go beyond what law allows the EPA to impose.

“We are looking for alternatives, and we’re looking for constructive criticisms and also constructive suggestions,” said regional EPA administrator Jim Gulliford.

The agency’s listening tour also includes stops in the coal country of Wyoming and West Virginia. It will stop in San Francisco next week.

“So there’s an opportunity, hopefully, to hear a very broad spectrum of interests,” Gulliford said.

The effort to repeal the Clean Power Plan is part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to revitalize the American coal industry.

More than 180 witnesses had signed up to testify on Wednesday. Among them was Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office. The state is on record siding with the Trump administration and against the Clean Power Plan.

Brian Grimmett is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a bank robbery and asking the public for help to identify a suspect.

Just after noon Wednesday, police responded to report of a bank robbery at the Bank of America in the 2100 Block of North Hillside in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

A 53-year-old female employee told police an unknown black male suspect in his 20s, 5-foot-8, slender build, a goatee and wearing a blue stocking cap, gray jacket with a red stripe entered the bank.

He handed her a note demanding money and indicating he had a firearm. The suspect took money and fled the bank on foot, according to Davidson.  There were no injuries.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Wichita Police.

NEWTON, Kan— The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence Thursday filed suit on behalf of the family of murdered Excel Industries employee Joshua Higbee against A Pawn Shop, located in Newton, Kansas.

According to a media release, the lawsuit alleges that A Pawn Shop negligently sold firearms in a straw purchase, which were then used by a known convicted felon in a February 25, 2016 workplace shooting. One of the guns was a semi-automatic assault rifle, similar to the type used by gunmen in recent mass shootings in Parkland, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Joshua Higbee was killed when Cedric Ford opened fire on his colleagues at the Excel Industries factory in Hesston, Kansas. The workplace shooting occurred during Ford’s crime spree that began in Newton, Kansas. Ford killed three people, including Higbee, and injured 14 others.

The complaint alleges that A Pawn Shop transferred an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle and a Glock semi-automatic handgun to Sarah Jo Hopkins, despite numerous indications that she was acting as a straw purchaser for Ford. Federal law prohibited Ford, a convicted felon, from purchasing and possessing firearms. A straw purchase is when someone buys a gun for someone else, and it is a violation of federal law. Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman and The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed the suit in the District Court of Harvey County, Kansas.

Subrina Luke, Joshua Higbee’s wife, stated, “Joshua was a wonderful man and a wonderful father. It feels like we lost everything when he was taken from us.”

“Whatever your views are on gun issues, we can all agree that gun dealers have a responsibility to do what they reasonably can to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people,” said Jonathan Lowy, Vice President, Litigation, and co-counsel for the plaintiff at The Brady Center. “When a gun dealer chooses to engage in irresponsible sales practices that arm dangerous people, that dealer should be held accountable.”

“Straw purchases are one of the primary ways that dangerous criminals get guns,” said David Morantz, co-counsel for the plaintiff at Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman. “Gun dealers serve on the front lines of the battle to deter gun violence. This lawsuit will help ensure that gun dealers adhere to their duty and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”

Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman is a personal injury and civil litigation firm in Overland Park, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo. The firm successfully represented the family of victims in the Overland Park Jewish Community Center shooting against Walmart, which sold one of the guns used in the incident.