Odds and ends

In case she forgot

Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe, criticized a bill allowing breast-feeding in public, saying the legislation was drawn up because of the complaint of one person.

“When you are trying to fix one person’s issue, you are probably not doing the right thing,” Brownlee said.

One day later, Brownlee was amending a bill to allow a special car-tag decal for a war heroine. Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, reminded Brownlee of what she had said during the previous day. Brownlee acknowledged the comment but continued with the amendment.

Breast-feeding progress

Amy Swan, the Lawrence woman who initiated the breast-feeding bill, said she was disappointed the measure was essentially dead for the 2005 session, but she said she would try again next year.

“I believe we are about 70 percent there. We have gone through the process,” she said.

The measure would have allowed women to breast-feed wherever they have a right to be. It also would have encouraged breast-feeding for its health benefits. The bill was approved by the House and a Senate committee, but it was returned to the committee after a majority of senators said they believed businesses should be allowed to prohibit breast-feeding on their premises.

Car talk

Republicans continue to harangue Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, about her claims of savings when she overhauled the state vehicle inventory.

Sebelius overhauled the system by eliminating the central motor pool, selling more than 700 vehicles, and halting new vehicle purchases except for law enforcement. The total savings was about $9.8 million, according to the governor’s office.

But during Senate debate on a highway bill, Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, cited an audit, which he said found Sebelius’ claim inflated.

“The bottom line is this: There were not that savings despite repeated claims to the contrary,” Schmidt said.

The report by the Legislative Division of Post-Audit said some of the reported savings weren’t known because it hadn’t been determined whether it would cost more for state employees to rent cars, or be reimbursed for use of their personal cars, instead of using a state-owned vehicle.

Democrats have defended Sebelius, saying she did a good job saving money and cleaning up a mess in the state vehicle fleet that was left by GOP officials.

Today’s schedule

Time reserved for conference committee meetings.

Quote of the week

What you are voting on in this plan is a $500 million property tax increase.”

— Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, speaking against a conference-committee report on school finance