Topeka ? The final version of legislation prompted by the Rev. Fred Phelps and his followers’ protests at funerals of soldiers killed in combat will be crafted by House and Senate negotiators and may not come up for a final vote until next month.

On Thursday, the House voted 125-0 for the proposal, returning it to the Senate to consider changes imposed by the House, particularly expanding the buffer zone around funerals and removing what senators considered safeguards against encroaching on freedom of speech.

Because the House and Senate passed vastly different versions, it will be up to negotiators to craft a bill acceptable to a majority of both chambers. The Legislature starts its annual break at the end of the week, so most likely any negotiated version won’t come up for a vote until lawmakers return for their wrap-up session on April 26.

The House version says anybody picketing or protesting a funeral can’t be closer than 300 yards one hour before, during and two hours after the service. It also makes it unlawful to obstruct or prevent the intended uses of public streets and sidewalks or other public space while protesting.

The bill senators passed forbids protests within 100 yards of the service for the same period. The Senate exempted from the buffer zone streets, sidewalks and other public spaces because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled those areas are public venues. But the House struck that language.

“I liked what they did, if it’s constitutional, but I want to hear the rationale,” Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, said of the House’s version.