Brownback’s Texas two-step

In a speech to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., warmed up the crowd by talking about Kansas State University’s basketball win over then-No. 1 Texas. “Texans, they’re just really fun people to beat,” Brownback said.

But moments later he was praising Texas’ economic development, saying that Kansas needed to be more like the Lone Star state in that category.

Bigger districts require longer weeks

Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, urged the Senate Ways and Means Committee to consider his proposal to reduce the number of state senators from 40 to 30. But state Sen. Janis Lee, D-Kensington, spoke up for rural legislators whose Senate districts are massive in area. “I hope when you do that bill, you put in an extra day of the week,” Lee said to Steineger. To get from one end of her district to another is a three-hour drive, one-way, she said. Reducing the number of districts and making the remaining ones larger would simply make it more difficult, she said, to serve her constituents.

Change in water policy proposed

Kansas’ half-century “use it or lose it” water policy could be altered under a bill before the Senate Agriculture Committee. Water rights holders are required to put their rights to “beneficial use.” The new legislation would recognize conservation as a beneficial use.

“The program would be voluntary, and would allow producers that wish to save water for future use or future generations to have that opportunity without risk of losing the property right they developed,” said Kansas Agriculture Secretary Josh Svaty.

Quote of the week

“You don’t expect a hot dog to light up with fire.”

— Nancy Niles Lusk of Overland Park in demonstrating to a legislative committee an example of what she says are unsafe cigarette lighters that look like food and other items.

What’s next:

Hearing on House Bill 2517, dealing with domestic violence offenses, before House Corrections and Juvenile Justice at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Room 144-South, Capitol.

Presentations by universities, including Kansas University, to House Appropriations Committee at 9 a.m. Thursday, Room 346-South, Capitol.