Here are today’s headlines from Kansas government:(Wichita Eagle) Senate panel considers paraphernalia measure: Sometimes, a crack pipe is just a crack pipe. That was the message to a Senate committee Wednesday from a Wichita state representative and a leader of the local branch of the NAACP. But proprietors of two Wichita stores that sell unorthodox smoking apparatus told the committee their products were for tobacco use only, and they had a petition with 4,000 signatures swearing to that.(Harris News Service) Group alleges problems with ticket freebies: A national anti-tax hike group on Wednesday called for universities with teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament – including the University of Kansas – to not provide congressional members or their staffs with free tickets to games.(LJW) `Official English’ bill advances: A Senate committee Wednesday recommended approval of a bill designating English as the official language of the state.(Kansas Health Institute News Service) Seat-bill wins committee OK: As many as half of Kansas teenagers don’t wear seat belts at all the times they should, but a bill on its way to the House for debate aims to change that.(Topeka Capital-Journal) Casinos would compete for recreational dollars: Bob Johannes on Wednesday urged a House committee to be cautious when considering casinos in Kansas, saying expanding gaming will erode the revenue base from other recreational activities in the state.(KC Star) Johnson County upset by school finance proposal: A House committee’s vote Wednesday to change a provision in the school finance law allowing 17 districts to raise more from local taxes angered the panel’s Johnson County members.(LJW) Higher ed advocates urge caution in tax cuts: Higher education advocates Wednesday warned that while tax cuts are politically popular, they could harm the state’s higher education system.(Topeka Capital-Journal) Committee seeks cut in corporate taxes: In a role reversal of political stereotype, House Democrats pushed Wednesday for deeper cuts in the state’s corporate income tax than Republican colleagues would accept.(LJW) New gun bill worries cities: Lawrence officials say they are worried about a bill that would prohibit cities from putting in their own restrictions on people’s ability to carry concealed guns.(LJW) KU Med, KU Hospital close in talks: A contentious dispute between the Kansas University Medical Center and its teaching hospital over the medical center’s efforts to also join forces with a rival hospital may be resolved within days, a key official said Wednesday.(AP) Business tax cuts, jobless benefits bill stuck: Some $175 million in tax relief for businesses over two years remained stuck Wednesday night in the Legislature, as some Republican senators tried to divorce it from faster delivery of all jobless workers’ first unemployment checks.