Topeka ? Moderate and conservative Republicans needed years to generate their deep animosity but it took only a few days of the 2005 legislative session for hard feelings to surface in the Senate.

Fights over leadership positions, committee assignments and rules governing how legislation is handled threaten the ability of the 40-member chamber to resolve major issues such as school finance, taxes and health care.

“I think it’s hard to get 21 votes when you’re not including other members on that issue,” said conservative Sen. Tim Huelskamp, R-Fowler. “I think you get a better product when you include the entire caucus.”

Conservatives oppose increasing taxes for any reason, while moderates don’t reject that option to deal with the budget. Conservatives tend to be more skeptical that public schools need more money. And they generally are consistent supporters of restrictions on abortion, while moderates’ stances vary, up to full support for abortion rights.

During the session’s first week, when the tension was evident, moderates tried to the downplay squabbles, saying the disagreements were efforts to let off steam.

But squabbles within the GOP contributed last year to legislators’ inability to agree to a funding package for public schools. This year, legislators face an April 12 deadline set by the Kansas Supreme Court to improve education funding.

Senate President Steve Morris said Republicans can work out their differences.

“I don’t think it will have a significant influence on the major issues that we have to consider this year,” said Morris, R-Hugoton.

But the split was evident in December, when Republicans chose leaders for the next four years.

Morris, a moderate, was elected president over Shawnee conservative Nick Jordan. Moderates claimed all but one leadership job, assistant majority leader, won by Karin Brownlee of Olathe after eight ballots.

Conservatives received only token representation on budget and education committees but won the chairmanships of commerce, health care and local government committees.

“There’s always anger at the end of an election cycle,” said Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence.

Brownlee said conservatives are at a disadvantage.

“There are things that get bottled up. We have issues that we would like to have attention to,” Brownlee said.

Huelskamp, a conservative leader, also worried some legislation will be routed away from conservative chairmen. For example, Huelskamp’s Elections and Local Government Committee has handled campaign finance in the past, but another committee plans a briefing next week on a campaign finance proposal next week.

The proposal — favored by some moderates and opposed by conservatives — would force groups to disclose more information about advertising campaigns on issues designed to sway elections.

Some resentment dates to previous Senate leadership, conservatives said.

Huelskamp said Senate leaders told him eight years ago if he didn’t offer a proposal to put local tax questions to a public vote as an amendment to a bill during Senate debate, the issue would receive a fair hearing.

“I’m still waiting,” he said.

Schmidt said current leaders can’t be blamed for the distrust.

“The Senate is under new management,” he said.

Morris said he wouldn’t exercise any additional power to block legislation from coming to the floor and committee leaders won’t be urged to stall conservative issues.

Last year, the House approved a bill regulating abortion clinics, but the measure remained in committee in the Senate.

This year, Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, spearheaded a failed conservative attempt to change the rules, so that 21 senators could vote to pull a bill out of committee, instead of the 24 now required.

Conservatives did succeed in rewriting Senate rules to allow more recorded votes, an effort opposed by most moderates, who fear conservatives will offer amendments to bills on contentious issues like abortion for political reasons. Conservatives said they want to open up the legislative process.

“We can promise fairness, but the reality is conservative issues won’t stand a chance to get out of committee,” Huelskamp said.