×
×
homepage logo

Will state take action on payday loans?

By Staff Report - | Dec 11, 2006

Here are today’s headlines from Kansas government:

Kansas Legislature

(Wichita Eagle) Lawmaker wants cap on payday loans: A Wichita legislator wants to place a cap on the interest charged by payday and car title loan stores — an annual rate that is currently as high as 390 percent a year.

(AP) West Kansas gains legislative clout: Most counties in the state’s western half have been losing people over the past 15 years, and the region has lost legislative seats as a result, in theory shifting power to the east, particularly Johnson County. Yet when the 2007 Legislature convenes on Jan. 8, western Kansas will have significant clout, thanks to the longevity of some of its lawmakers and House leadership elections this month.

(AP) Complaint filed against newly elected state lawmaker: A newly elected state representative and his supporters violated Kansas law by campaigning too close to polling places, a complaint filed by the Sedgwick County Republican Party alleges.

The issues

(Garden City Telegram) Talk of wind in the air: It’s a natural resource Kansas always seems to have ready on hand and never come close to running out of: Wind. That being so, it should come as no surprise that as the debate over Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s proposal to build three 700-megawatt, coal-fired power plants at the company’s Holcomb site has intensified over the last few weeks, the possibility that wind could be used as an alternative to coal has begun to circulate.

(KTKA) Jessica’s law could hamper prosecutors: Prosecutors say Kansas law could make it harder for them to bring child molesters and rapists to justice. They say under Jessica’s Law, suspects are less likely to plead guilty, making for more trials and more children on the stand. The law requires a life sentence for sex crimes carried out by adults against children 14 or younger. First-time offenders would be eligible for parole after 25 years.