Topeka ? Two weeks after the state Supreme Court raised filing fees to deal with its budget problems, the Senate on Thursday advanced a bill raising the fees even more.

The bill, which received first-round approval on a voice vote, would raise $200,000 for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center near Hutchinson and $280,000 for the Judicial Council.

Gov. Bill Graves’ proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 included no money for the Judicial Council, which reviews criminal and civil codes for legislators and the Supreme Court.

The Senate’s vote came as the controversy quieted over the Supreme Court’s order to impose fee increases without seeking legislative approval. Atty. Gen. Carla Stovall issued an opinion Tuesday backing the court.

If approved on a final vote set for today, the bill would return to the House, which has already passed a different version.

The Senate bill would increase municipal court fees by $2 and state fees by $1, to help fund the training center. It would add another $1 to criminal and civil docket fees and 50 cents to the fee for traffic cases, to fund the Judicial Council.

Under the Supreme Court’s order, which takes effect Monday, most filing fees will increase $5. The cost of filing a civil lawsuit rises from the current $101 to $106 on Monday, and would reach $108 on July 1 under the Senate bill.

Some senators argued Thursday that legislators are pricing justice out of the reach of poor Kansans by funding too many government operations through court fees.

“There reaches a point in time when the citizens are not going to be able to access the courts,” said Sen. Paul Feleciano, D-Wichita. “Tomorrow, it’ll be another fee for another agency.”

But others noted the state faces an estimated $700 million budget shortfall.

Stovall’s nonbinding opinion on the Supreme Court’s authority to raise court fees was requested by Rep. Jeff Peterson, R-Manhattan, who said he believed only the Legislature can enact a fee increase.

Stovall wrote that the Kansas Constitution gives the Supreme Court administrative authority over the entire court system and its finances.