Panel delays vote on beer keg plan
A proposal on beer kegs hasn't tapped enough support yet to get out of committee.
The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee has delayed a vote on a bill that would require liquor stores to keep track of who buys beer kegs. Members said they had too many questions.
Some members wondered how the new law would be enforced and whether it would accomplish its goal of reducing underage drinking. They also questioned whether cities would have the authority to exempt themselves from such a law, rendering it toothless.
The bill is aimed at discouraging adults from buying beer kegs for parties at which underage drinkers are present. Critics suggest it wouldn't prevent underage drinking and would open liquor store owners to lawsuits.
The proposal was drafted by Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, who is a physician.
Cigarette tax hike wins panel's OK
The Senate budget-writing committee Wednesday endorsed increasing the state cigarette tax by one cent per pack to help fund local health departments.
If the increase became law, it would raise nearly $2 million per year. Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee said local health departments have in recent years been underfunded and taken on increasing responsibilities.
"Local health departments are struggling," said Committee Chairman Stephen Morris, R-Hugoton.
Since tobacco-related illnesses are a leading cause of death in Kansas, the committee agreed to seek a funding increase for health departments through an increase in cigarette taxes.
Editor's Emporia home may become state's
A Senate panel is to vote next week on a bill to allow the state to take possession of the Emporia home of famed editor William Allen White.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Steve Morris predicted the committee would endorse the measure, which would allow the Kansas State Historical Society to turn the home into a historic site.
The home already has been designated a national historic landmark by the U.S. Interior Department.
White, born in Emporia in 1868, was the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor of the Emporia Gazette. He died in 1944.
Kansas University's journalism school bears his name.
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