Under the dome

Lobby expenses

Work continues on a bill that would allow politicians to transfer their campaign funds raised for one race to a campaign for a different office. But the sticking point is a proposal attached to the bill by the House that would reduce the amount of public disclosure that lobbyists would have to make on whom they wine and dine. The Senate is balking at the House proposal, which has been strongly criticized by state ethics officials.

Criticism continues

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said she was “really disappointed” by House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, for killing a proposed statewide home mortgage loan program for first-time home buyers. “I think it’s a real tragedy,” she said. Every state has such a program, except Kansas. Mays has said the program wasn’t targeted to low- and middle-income Kansans, as it was advertised.

Gay-marriage ban

House-Senate negotiators argued as much about the explanatory note that could go on the ballot with the proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriages, as the amendment itself. Supporters of the ban argued they wanted “neutral” explanatory language, but state Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, wanted language that would say the amendment would deny certain rights to “same-sex” couples. In the end, the House got the language it wanted.

Prairie dog bill

Last week, Senate President Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, pulled up a bill from last year that dealt with controlling prairie dog populations as a vehicle to use for a school-finance proposal. Essentially, the bill would be gutted and the school-finance plan slapped in its place. House Education Committee Chairwoman Kathe Decker, R-Clay Center, called the proposal “No prairie dog left behind.”

Tax debate

Fallout continues from an advertising campaign criticizing lawmakers who have voted for tax increases for public schools. A Washington, D.C.-based group, Americans for Prosperity, sent tens of thousands of slick campaign-looking cards to voters criticizing the legislators for supporting tax increases. Many lawmakers cried foul at the attempt by an out-of-state group to parachute into a difficult debate. Two groups sent out a news release disassociating themselves from the effort. The Kansas Grain and Feed Assn. and the Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Assn. said they were mistakenly listed as in support of the Americans for Prosperity.

Schedule

• The House-Senate conference committee on education meets at 11 a.m. today.
• The House and Senate reconvene at 1:30 p.m. today.