Topeka ? While the start of the 2005 legislative session in January may seem far away, lawmakers already are gearing up to study issues that will be critical to the state’s future.

“There are some meaty topics,” said Senate President Dave Kerr, a Republican from Hutchinson.

From education to tax policy to the environment to eminent domain, committees are setting up shop to hold hearings in preparation for the legislative session.

Assignments to the committees are being made and the meetings will start later this month.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said he expected the committees to help the Legislature get a jump on issues when the session starts. “They are going to separate the wheat from the chaff on a lot of these subjects,” he said.

Two committees will be dealing with education issues and an expected ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court this fall on the constitutionality of the Kansas school-finance system.

A state judge has declared the method of funding public schools unconstitutional because it shortchanges minority students. The state has appealed to the Supreme Court.

Ironically, the state’s emergence from its revenue freefall of the past couple of years may mean more work for the Legislature.

“For the last few years, we have been so focused on budgetary issues that other issues have sort of taken a backseat,” Mays said. “It appears we are finally emerging from our crisis and we have an opportunity to look at some issues that we have maybe neglected for a couple of years,” he said.

Some of the topics that will be covered by interim committees include:

• The use of eminent domain for purposes of economic development.
• Reviewing city annexation laws.
• Reviewing the use of sales tax and revenue bonds by local governments.
• Long-term care funding issues.
• Reviewing higher education block-grant funding.
• Reviewing exceptions to the Kansas Open Records Act and recommending which ones should be continued and whether any new ones should be added.