Posted on Sat, Apr. 04, 2009

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Coal-plant and abortion measures head to Sebelius

BY JEANNINE KORANDA AND DION LEFLER

Eagle Topeka bureau

TOPEKA - In a last-minute flurry of activity Friday, lawmakers paved the way for construction of two coal-fired plants in Holcomb and approved new reporting requirements for late-term abortions.

But votes for both controversial proposals fell short of the number needed to override any veto by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who vetoed similar proposals last year.

Legislators also raised the state's minimum wage and rejected a stronger seat belt law before adjourning a session that had been dominated by budget cuts.

The budget "just kind of sucked all the oxygen out of the room," said Rep. Nile Dillmore, D-Wichita.

Lawmakers will return late in April for a short wrap-up session.

Here's a rundown of the major issues they tackled Friday:

Abortion

Senate Bill 218 would require doctors to give more detailed justification for a late-term abortion on forms sent to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

And the written information women receive 24 hours before an abortion would be amended to read, "the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being."

The bill also would allow a woman or immediate relatives to sue an abortion provider they suspected of violating the state's abortion law.

Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, called the language "inflammatory" and "insensitive" and said it would harass women at a difficult time. He contended the bill was an attempt to slow down the process and intended to "provide a chilling effect to a woman in a crisis pregnancy."

Abortion opponents have said the bill would provide much-needed oversight of the state's late-term abortion laws and redress for women whose abortion may have violated state laws.

"It's a shame that late-term abortions continue to flaunt our late-term abortion laws," said Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler. The bill would help change that, he added.

The bill now goes to the governor's desk. Sebelius, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that included similar provisions -- such as the expanded reporting requirements -- last year.

Asked what Sebelius would do, spokeswoman Beth Martino said, "The governor will carefully review this bill, as she does every bill."

If she does veto the measure, supporters will have the chance to attempt to override her veto during the wrap-up session.

Bill supporters in both chambers would have to find a few more votes to do that.

The vote in the House was 82-43, two short of the 84 needed.

The vote in the Senate was 25-11, two short of the 27 needed.

The vote came the same day that KDHE released preliminary numbers of abortions in Kansas in 2008.

The overall number of abortions dropped by about 2 percent, to 10,642 from 10,836 in 2007. But late-term abortions, at 22 weeks of pregnancy or later, rose about 10 percent, from 293 in 2007 to 323 last year.

George Tiller of Wichita is the only late-term abortion provider in the state.

Coal

Plans for a coal-power complex near Holcomb were dealt a setback when House supporters fell 10 votes short of the number needed to override an expected gubernatorial veto.

A veto would be another defeat for Sunflower Electric Power Corp., a western Kansas co-op that initially proposed the plants in 2006. The utility saw the legislative effort fall just short last year of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome Sebelius' opposition.

State health and environment chief Rod Bremby has blocked the plants because of their expected output of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global climate change.

Like last year's coal bill, this year's would strip Bremby of authority to go beyond federal pollution limits in denying the coal plants' air-quality permits.

Any override attempt would occur when lawmakers return for the wrap-up session.

Plant supporters say they will use the time to try to win over supporters in the House.

"I'm always optimistic," said Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson. "If you can get this close, you can get the deal done."

Opponents, however, say it's time to move on. They argue that new federal regulations could make the plant unfeasible anyway, and that the state should focus on renewable energies like wind.

"I've never thought there were 84 votes," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence. "We once again risk walking out of here with no progress on a comprehensive energy package."

The tally on the bill was 74-48 with three not voting. Eighty-four votes are required to override a veto.

Minimum wage

The state's minimum wage will increase for the first time in about two decades to $7.25 on Jan. 1.

The issue has been a perennial goal for Democrats but never gained traction until now.

"What we say by passing this is that we respect and value work and we're willing to put our money where our mouth is," said House Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita.

The negotiated compromise for Senate Bill 160 passed the House 110-15. It passed the Senate 35-5.

"I'm very pleased that we got this passed. It was time to bring our Kansas law in line with the federal law," said Sen. Dick Kelsey, R-Goddard, who championed the bill in the Senate.

"It did not make sense to have something on our law books which had no real meaning," he added, noting he had never met anyone who made the state minimum wage.

Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, co-sponsored the bill. "For too long we have failed to protect the people at the bottom of the pyramid and assure them a living wage," she said.

Kansas is one of six states with minimum wage levels lower than the federal level, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Five other states have no state minimum wage.

Kansas' current minimum wage is $2.65. The state estimated about 19,000 Kansans would see their wages increase if the bill is signed.

Seat belts

Turning down a potential $13.2 million in federal highway funds, the House rejected a bill that would have allowed police to stop motorists for not wearing a seat belt.

The 65-55 vote against the seat belt bill came after a spirited debate touching on safety, personal liberty and even prostitution.

Had the bill passed, the state would have been immediately eligible for $11.2 million in federal highway funding, said Rep. Jerry Henry, D-Cummings, who carried the bill on the floor.

"It's been available for four years," he said. "We just haven't taken the strides to get it."

In addition, he said, the state also would be eligible to apply for an additional $2 million in newer highway funding.

Leave it, said Rep. Virgil Peck, R-Tyro, who argued that taking the money would be tantamount to accepting a bribe from the federal government.

He drew groans from many other members when he said that accepting a seat belt law as a condition to get federal funding is similar to the transaction between a prostitute and customer.

"I'm just not going to prostitute myself to the federal government for $11 million," he said.

Rep. Bill Otto, R-Le Roy, said he was voting against the bill largely because his southeast Kansas district wouldn't get the federal money anyway.

"If I'm not getting part of the $11 million, but my people are going to start getting fined, I'm not happy about it," he said.

Henry argued that the safety benefits of a seat belt law outweigh the opponents' concerns. He said a long list of emergency responders testified in support of the bill.

"They've been on scenes where they know what the effect of seat belts is on saving lives," he said.

It remains against the law for drivers and passengers in vehicle front seats to ride unbelted. All children must be belted wherever they sit in the car.

The proposed measure, House Bill 2130, would have made going unbelted a "primary violation," which would mean that police could stop a motorist solely for not wearing a seat belt.

Now, it's a secondary violation, meaning police can only issue a seat-belt ticket after stopping the vehicle for another infraction.

The bill had been approved 28-11 by the Senate on Thursday.

Contributing: David Klepper of the Eagle Topeka bureau; the Associated Press