By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas appear skittish about being able to block Medicaid expansion, offering political cover to moderate GOP colleagues if they back off their push for an expansion this year.

@GovLauraKelly is pushing for a socialist, Bernie Sanders-endorsed health care plan. Medicaid needs reform, not expansion. We cannot surrender to the mess of Obamacare in Kansas. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/i0bJb3sOVm

— Susan Wagle (@SenatorWagle) April 2, 2019

State Senate President Susan Wagle told reporters Tuesday that GOP leaders plan to have a legislative committee study Medicaid expansion this summer and fall. She said the panel would review proposals that could generate broader support among Republicans, such as a work requirement or drug testing for people receiving the expanded coverage.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has made expanding Medicaid health coverage for as many as 150,000 additional Kansas residents one of her top priorities after her Republican predecessors thwarted it. Expansion has bipartisan support, but conservative Republicans who oppose it hold key positions in the GOP-controlled Legislature.

Expansion opponents prevented even a legislative committee vote on a plan until supporters forced a debate in the House two weeks ago and passed a modified versionof Kelly’s plan. The Senate has yet to take up the bill, and expansion supporters are trying to pressure that chamber’s GOP leaders into allowing a vote while working on ways to maneuver around them.

“If it passes, it will be a plan that’s affordable for Kansas and it will be catered to our needs,” said Wagle, a conservative Wichita Republican who’s been a strong expansion opponent. “We’re willing and open to discuss it, but we want to do the right thing.”

GOP leaders have argued that Medicaid expansion will be too expensive for Kansas, even with the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act’s promise that the federal government will cover most of the cost. Wagle also argued that state lawmakers should wait to see whether Congress overhauls health care again, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday deferred his push for a GOP alternative until after the 2020 election.

Thirty-six states have expanded Medicaid or have seen voters approve ballot initiatives. The federal government would cover 90 percent of the cost for Kansas.

State Rep. Susan Concannon, a moderate western Kansas Republican who supports Medicaid expansion, said GOP leaders are “feeling the heat” of popular support for it and further study is a “stall tactic” to get them through this year.

“I have a feeling their districts are starting to show their support for Medicaid expansion as well, and this is their effort to respond,” said Sen. Randall Hardy, another GOP moderate from central Kansas.

Kelly called on legislators to pass an expansion bill this week. Lawmakers are scheduled to begin an annual spring break Saturday and reconvene May 1 to wrap up business for the year.

“Enough is enough,” Kelly told reporters during a news conference. “No more stall tactics. No more bait and switch. No more excuses.”

Kelly’s administration estimates that the net cost of an expansion to Kansas would be $34 million during its first full year. Republican leaders believe the figure is far too low.

Wagle said legislators need months to review what other states have done, study what limits the Trump administration might allow and examine alternatives to Kelly’s plan.

“We want to put caveats in,” Wagle said. “We want time to look at those.”

But expansion supporters said an expansion plan will pass the Senate this year if backers can engineer a vote. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, dismissed Wagle’s arguments for further study.

“It’s a position of weakness,” he said.

EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say two people were hurt in a crash on a smoke-obscured highway in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reports that the wreck happened Tuesday on the Kansas Turnpike about 5 miles southwest of Emporia. More than 100 controlled burns were conducted that day in Lyon County.

Because of the smoke, 70-year-old Gary Craig of Culver, Indiana, had slowed to around 10 mph. His sport utility vehicle then was hit by a pickup truck. The patrol says Craig and a passenger were taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t believed to be serious. The truck’s driver wasn’t hurt.

Controlled burns are used to control invasive species and encourage plant growth.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Two teenagers from Topeka are charged with attempted first-degree murder and robbery in the shootings of two brothers at a Holcom Park Rec Center in Lawrence.

Benson Edwards Jr., and Sahavione Caraway, both 17, made their first appearances Tuesday in Douglas County District Court. Both pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors could decide to try both as adults.

The charges allege that the defendants shot the two victims several times on Friday afternoon at Holcom Park during an attempted robbery.

Police haven’t released the names of the brothers, who are 18 and 16. On Tuesday, the older brother was in critical but stable condition and the younger was in stable condition.

Edwards also is charged with criminal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Edwards and Caraway remain in juvenile custody.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — Animal control officers in Kansas City are investigating how the dismembered remains of a horse ended up in a city park.

A man playing disc golf found the remains Monday evening in Kessler Park.

Police spokesman Capt. Tim Hernandez says the horse appeared to have been prepared for consumption. After the meat was removed, the carcass was placed in a barrel and dumped in the park.

The horse’s head, hooves, legs, entrails, ribs and lungs were scattered in the area.

Hernandez said in a news release that a veterinarian will determine the time and cause of the horse’s death.

Animal control will lead the investigation unless it is determined the horse was stolen.

HUTCHINSON — AT&T has chosen Hutchinson to be the first city in the nation to beta test a federally-backed smart city system.

Hutchinson Police Chief Jeffrey Hooper presented a proposal to the Hutchinson City Council. The city must present AT&T with a letter of commitment to move forward.

Chief Hooper explained the concept and how it would work. Hooper said the technology would help law enforcement by allowing officers to access a phone that has called authorities. Officers could start recording the crime and authorities would be able to tap into the system and see the crime as it’s happening.

Hooper also talked about AT&T strengthening its towers in Hutchinson. That includes putting cameras on certain intersections for first responders to access. In an emergency situation, lights and sirens would trip the lights to red and allow emergency vehicles to pass through more safely.

“It would also have sensors on that intersection where we could see the traffic flow, traffic pattern where we could see congestion at that intersection, such as a stalled vehicle or an accident, something like that,” Chief Hooper said.

Hutchinson was chosen because Kansas is the nation’s leader for the 911 dispatch communications system. There are 98 communications centers connected to the statewide system.

Drones could also be connected to the system for major events — such as flooding or wildfires. There is some concern regarding the drones since they are not allowed in certain areas, including the Hutchinson Airport. There are also some privacy concerns with drones. Those issues will be addressed and worked out before the drones are used.

There would be no upfront cost to the city, however, there would be a service fee if the city chooses to stay on the system. Hooper also says there will be some staff time commitments across the city.

Any final decision will come before the city council at a later time.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A criminal trial of a priest charged with molesting a child has been delayed until at least summer.

The trial of Rev. Scott Kallal was set to begin April 15 in Wyandotte County District Court. But a hearing last week, the court granted Kallal’s request for more time. A status conference is set of June 7.

Kallal was charged in in 2017 with two felony counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. He has pleaded not guilty.

He was suspended from public priestly ministry in 2017 as associate pastor at Holy Spirit Church in Overland Park.

In January, Kallal was on a list of 22 priests the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas said have had substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of minors made against them in the past 75 years.

WASHINGTON (AP) — One year out from the start of the 2020 census, Census Bureau officials set out to demonstrate the importance of the head count for all Americans. President Donald Trump offered a different message, saying the count will be “meaningless” if it doesn’t include a citizenship question.In a tweet Monday, Trump blamed “Radical Left Democrats” for opposing the “all important” question on citizenship.

Can you believe that the Radical Left Democrats want to do our new and very important Census Report without the all important Citizenship Question. Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions (ridiculous) that it costs to put together!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 1, 2019

On Tuesday, a Democratic-controlled House panel voted Tuesday to subpoena documents and a witness related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

The vote was 23-14, with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan being the only Republican to join with Democratic lawmakers in the vote.

Democrats say they want specific documents that will determine why Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided to add the question. They say the Trump administration has declined to provide those documents despite repeated requests. The vote is the latest example of the ways Democratic lawmakers are using their majority to aggressively investigate the inner workings of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Ross said the decision in March 2018 to add the question was based on a Justice Department request to help it enforce the Voting Rights Act.

The official counting begins on April 1 next year. To mark the date one year out, Census Bureau officials held a briefing Monday to begin raising awareness and project confidence that they’re up to the monumental task.

Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham declined to answer a question about the president’s tweet, saying “we really want to restrict our comments to talking about the great job we’re doing, where we are and how it’s going to help this nation.”

Dillingham noted that the census for the first time will give people the chance to respond online. People can also respond by telephone and mail. He cited how easy it will be to provide requested information and to assure that the information will be secure and confidential.

“But probably the message we really want to emphasize is how important it is,” Dillingham said. “We now live in an information age where accurate data improves the quality of our lives and supports our thriving economy.”

The decennial census is used to help determine how about $675 billion in federal dollars is distributed each year. State and local governments use it to make decisions about where to locate schools and health clinics and provide social services and improve roads and bridges. The survey results are also used to distribute electoral college votes and congressional district seats.

The citizenship question has been caught up in litigation in federal courts, where lower courts have ruled that the administration’s haste to include the question violated federal law and the Constitution.

Trump tweeted that without a citizenship question, the “Report would be meaningless and a waste of the $Billions (ridiculous) that it costs to put together!”

Against the advice of career officials at the Census Bureau, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross decided last year to add the citizenship question to the survey for the 10-year headcount, saying the Justice Department requested the question to improve enforcement of the federal Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court is hearing the Trump administration appeal of a federal judge’s ruling in New York that the decision violated federal law. Since then, a judge in California has said a citizenship question also would violate the Constitution.

A resolution of the citizenship matter is needed soon to allow the government to start printing the census questionnaire.

Michael Platt Jr., an assistant secretary at the Commerce Department, said in a letter obtained by The Associated Press the department believes “the rush to issue a subpoena is premature.” Platt said the department’s staff is working at full capacity on “both its normal business and its multiple Congressional engagements, and I believe your one-day response demand is inconsistent with your constitutional obligation to accommodate the department.”

“We respectfully request adequate time to consider your letter and requests,” Platt wrote Monday.