TOPEKA — Gov. Kathleen Sebelius again criticized lawmakers Thursday for tying two southwest Kansas coal plants to economic development initiatives in other parts of the state.
Speaking with reporters during a post-legislative session news conference, Sebelius said the Legislature's decision to package the measures together likely made the bill unconstitutional.
Sebelius has rejected two previous proposals from lawmakers allowing construction of the plants near Holcomb, saying they would be too large and would emit too much carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global climate change.
The governor said that bundling the legislation with other matters only created an additional impediment for the coal-plant proposal being pushed by House and Senate GOP leaders.
However, she didn't say for sure whether she'd veto it because her office hasn't received the bill .
"At the end of the day, it's one more bad choice that was made to sacrifice legitimate economic proposals," Sebelius said of the bundled legislation.
The governor's comments came a day after House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, said he didn't believe that lawmakers would have to override Sebelius' veto on the matter when they return for the ceremonial end of their session on May 29.
Neufeld said he believed that Sebelius would let the bill become law without her signature and that an override wouldn't be necessary.
"I'm working on the assumption that economic development is important to her somewhere in Kansas," Neufeld said.
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