2/25/2008

By CHRIS GREEN

and SARAH KESSINGER

Harris News Service

Debate over legislation in the Kansas House turned generational Thursday.

A bill before the chamber would raise the minimum age for filing an age discrimination claim in employment from age 18 to 40. Backers said the unusual change was needed to make state law consistent with federal law.

But it brought backlash from several House members younger than age 40.

Rep. Kevin Yoder, 32, R-Overland Park and a Hutchinson native, said he thought preventing younger people from filing lawsuits sounded like age discrimination.

Rep. Josh Svaty, 28, D-Ellsworth, questioned the need for the change. He mentioned that he didn't think Social Security would be flush enough with cash to provide him with checks when he's old enough to retire.

"I think that's age discrimination," Svaty said.

Rep. Jan Pauls, 55, D-Hutchinson, said that it's people older than age 40 who need protection from losing their jobs because of their age, not younger people.

The chamber thwarted the youngsters' attempt to send the bill back to committee and gave it first-round approval.

Consolidation approval

A bill allowing local residents to vote on city-county government consolidation easily passed the Senate on Thursday, 23-12, with four members abstaining. The measure would remove a state requirement that the Legislature must give its approval when local governments plan to merge.

Thus far in Kansas, Tribune and Greeley County residents have agreed to marry services as have Kansas City and Wyandotte County. Other smaller counties appear to be interested, as well.

The question now is whether the House will take up the measure, which hasn't passed the Legislature in past attempts.

House Local Government Chairman Mike Burgess, R-Topeka, said he wasn't sure where the bill would be assigned once it arrives from the Senate, but he figured it could land in his committee.

Whether the bill merits a hearing is uncertain, he said, until he has time to inspect it.

House Minority Leader Dennis McKinney, D-Greensburg, said he liked the idea of giving locals "the tools to make it work."

Sausage with bills

The scent of sauerkraut and bratwurst drew legions of legislators and staff to a Capitol hallway on Monday for a meal fit for an Oktoberfest crowd.

The promotional event for Hays' annual German bash ran throughout the morning and ended with a lunch that drew a line of hungry lawmakers.

Early in the day, an accordionist entertained as Hays Rep. Eber Phelps found time to stop in the rotunda for a little polka with Viola Dorzweiler, a resident of Catherine.

Phelps, who learned to polka as a youngster with his mother and sisters, didn't miss a beat and later enjoyed a favorite dish -- green bean and dumpling soup.

Ready, set, search

A new Web site that would allow citizens to search for state spending will become available to the public Friday.

Lawmakers passed a budget proviso last year requiring that a searchable state Web site be ready for launch this year as a way of increasing transparency for state government spending.

The Department of Administration and the Information Network of Kansas developed KanView, an online database of revenues and expenditures to the state.

Secretary of Administration Duane Goossen will preview the site for members of the media before the launch.

In the meantime, lawmakers are seeking to pass legislation to make the Web site a permanent feature of state government, at least until 2013.

Historic event

The process of transforming a plain wall in the State Capitol into a mural honoring a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision would begin under a bill this session.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, is among those asking to launch the planning of artwork commemorating the Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case, which outlawed segregation in public schools.

Hensley testified in favor of the bill this past week, along with representatives of the NAACP. The bill's number, SB 554, corresponds with the date of the ruling, May 1954.

Hensley told the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee that he knows a good place for the mural, a wall on the Capitol's third floor, outside the former state Supreme Court room. Under the bill, plans for the mural would be submitted to a special legislative committee by Jan. 1, 2009.

Panel Chairman Pete Brungardt, R-Salina, said the proposal would receive further review.

Top draw

Kansas Democrats will draw another rising star Democrat for their annual Washington Days Celebration this year.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine will be the featured speaker at the Friday fundraiser in Topeka. Raised in Overland Park, Kaine was elected governor of Virginia in 2005 and has been mentioned as a potential vice presidential contender for the Democrats.

Kaine will follow the lead of several other top Democrats who've ventured to Topeka in recent years, including former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Kansas Democratic Party Chairman Larry Gates lauded Kaine in announcing his visit recently, saying it would be an honor to host the Virginia governor.