Topeka ? The Kansas House and Senate are at odds on requiring first-time drunken driving offenders to install ignition interlock devices on their vehicles for a year.

The impasse Thursday threatened legislation designed to prevent budget problems for the state Department of Corrections.

“I don’t know quite where we go from here,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican.

A 2009 state law scheduled to take effect this July strengthens the penalties for driving under the influence. Lawmakers now worry that state prisons will be overwhelmed with new inmates, and they want to delay the law’s implementation for a year.

During a debate in March on that bill, the House attached the ignition interlock proposal, an idea promoted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The group noted that Kansas was among a handful of states that saw an increase of DUI-related fatalities from 2007 to 2008.

“Voting to require interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers is also about sending a message of deterrence,” said Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD national president.

But senators worry that cities and counties, which prosecute first-time DUI offenders, will face additional costs, and they question whether enough devices will be available, especially in rural areas.

House and Senate negotiators are supposed to draft a final, compromise version of the bill.

Senators negotiators had insisted on a version without the ignition interlock proposal, but the House rejected it in late March. House members then insisted on a version including the ignition interlock language, but the Senate rejected it Thursday.

Prison bill

Legislators have approved a bill that would increase penalties for sexual misconduct or trafficking contraband in state prisons.

The House and Senate both approved the legislation Wednesday.

The bill arose after a state audit of state prisons and recommendations from a consultant concerning the Topeka Correctional Facility. Those actions were taken after The Topeka Capital-Journal reported on sex between inmates and corrections officers at the Topeka prison for women.

Under the bill, unlawful sexual relations would result in a presumptive prison sentence. Offenders also would be required to register as sex offenders. The bill also includes tougher penalties for trafficking contraband in prisons.