Lawmakers halt audit of illegal immigration

? Legislators have decided against initiating a state audit of the costs to Kansas associated with illegal immigration.

Instead, a committee has directed auditors to review existing research on such issues and summarize them for lawmakers.

The push for a new audit arose from an unsuccessful effort to pass legislation this year dealing with illegal immigration. Backers of the audit wanted to study not only the costs, but how immigration affects wages and the benefits derived from immigrants.

But the Division of Post Audit’s staff concluded there aren’t enough good statistics for a valid study.

“What you’ll get is estimates on top of estimates, and it will all be a very broad range,” said Leo Hafner, deputy post auditor.

During a meeting Wednesday of the legislative committee directing the division’s work, a majority decided to back off.

“I would say this is a waste of time,” Rep. John Grange, an El Dorado Republican, told The Topeka Capital-Journal.

But some committee members thought an audit still worth pursuing. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, said he wants information about depressed wages.

“Any debate from either side is always well served if we have all the facts,” he said.

Dog racing turmoil

The National Greyhound Association’s leader expects its headquarters to stay in Abilene, despite dog racing’s decline in Kansas.

No dog tracks are open year-round in Kansas.

Executive Director Gary Guccione said uncertainty in the industry occasionally stirs up talk of moving the headquarters. But he said it would be too costly.

“We’re confident,” he told The Abilene Reflector-Chronicle. “We’ve been in Abilene since 1944 and we’re confident that we’ll be here for many years.”

Abilene residents were concerned enough about the possibility that the headquarters might move to discuss it at a recent economic development meeting.

But dog racing has suffered with the rise of casino gambling nationally.

The Woodlands in Kansas City, Kan., which has both dog and horse tracks, closed in August. Wichita Greyhound Park shut down last year.