Topeka ? The city of Mulvane’s disputed annexation of land for a state-owned casino near the Kansas Turnpike in Sumner County would be undone by a bill that received first-round House approval Wednesday.

The voice-vote approval was on a bill banning unilateral annexation of a narrow strip of land to gain access to noncontiguous tracts. A final vote is needed to send the bill to the Senate.

The bill is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2008, effectively undoing Mulvane’s annexation of land where Las Vegas-based Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. had planned to build near the Kansas Turnpike before dropping out last year because of the economy.

Mulvane competed against Wellington to be the Sumner County casino site. The county commission in December 2007 endorsed proposals near the turnpike’s Wellington exit. In January 2008, the Mulvane City Council annexed a strip of land connecting the city and the casino site. That meant the city, not the county, could approve the casino location as required by the 2007 gambling law.

“This is bad public policy to do it the way they did it,” said sponsoring Rep. Vince Wetta, a Wellington Democrat. “This is so flagrant that something had to be done and this was it.”

The annexation is the topic of ongoing litigation. A Sumner County district court judge ruled that the annexation of the five-mile-long strip was unconstitutional, and the case is before the Kansas Court of Appeals. Last week, the appeals court rejected a motion by the city to stay the judge’s ruling so the turnpike exit site could remain in play.

Equity Ventures, of Topeka, and an undisclosed partner plan to submit applications to the Kansas Lottery, which owns the gambling, by the April 1 deadline for two locations: the turnpike exit and another about three miles east of the turnpike on land Mulvane annexed earlier this month.

Wetta said his bill would not have an effect on the second location.

A gambling law created four state-owned casinos, one each in Ford, Sumner and Wyandotte counties and one in either Crawford or Cherokee County. Only the Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Dodge City is being built.

In a related gambling development, Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee Chairman Pete Brungardt said Wednesday he didn’t expect his committee to recommend sending a gambling bill to the chamber.

“I’d like to see changes made, but their considerable angst to bringing up the subject this session,” the Salina Republican said. “We don’t have any facilities running, so the notion of repeal or severe modifications of the law is always a possibility.”

The bill increases horse and dog tracks’ take from state-owned slot machines to 43 percent from 25 percent and makes clear that an additional 15 percent for expenses goes to the track operator.

The Woodlands horse and dog track closed in August after owners could not reach agreement on a contract with the Lottery for the slots, and Camptown Greyhound Park in Frontenac has been closed since 2000. Both say they won’t reopen unless they receive a larger percentage.

The bill also changes a section of the gambling law requiring background checks on anyone owning 0.5 percent of an equipment supply company to 5 percent. Supports of the change argue that in large corporations, small investors can change overnight, making background checks difficult.

However, the law already gives the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission some discretion on background checks.