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House passes energy bills

By Staff | Feb 6, 2007

Here are today’s headlines from Kansas government:

(Harris News Service) Energy bills clear hurdle: The Kansas House passed three bills Monday in response to Kansans’ growing demand for electricity coupled with some legislators’ emerging concern about global warming. The measures contain tax incentives for expansion of nuclear power and for landlords who add energy efficiency to rental units. A third bill aims to encourage renewable sources of electricity, particularly wind power, by offering exemptions from some site requirements on new high-voltage transmission lines that run power between the east and west sides of the state.

(LJW) Lawmakers get behind research lab: Facing fierce competition from other states, Kansas has offered the use of a new state-of-the-art lab and may pitch in another $50 million to lure a $450 million federal biodefense research facility, officials said Monday.

(LJW) Cloning bill sparks debate: A bill to define human cloning set the stage Monday between anti-abortion advocates and those who support stem cell research.

(LJW) Lawmakers question need for repairs: Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and higher education officials are facing a backlash after telling legislators that state universities need hundreds of millions of dollars to tackle a backlog in building repairs.

(AP) Conflict awaits over tax cut: A bill eliminating the state’s franchise tax was endorsed by the House Taxation Committee, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Monday that the measure isn’t financially responsible.

(Harris News Service) Rural areas need mental health services: The difficulty in providing health care to the state’s sparsely populated areas extends to mental health needs, a group told the Senate budget panel Monday. However, the issues facing rural counties often end up being misunderstood – or not even considered when policies are made, members of the state’s Rural Committee of Mental Health Services for Children and Families told the Senate Ways and Means Committee.