Topeka ? A state agency that works to encourage bioscience investments in Kansas is being criticized for its spending on salaries and bonuses, after records showed more than half of the agency’s employees make more than $100,000 a year.

Members of the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday blasted the Kansas Bioscience Authority, calling the compensation for the agency’s executives and staff “shocking” and “exorbitant.” The committee asked that the agency be audited and also sent a bill to the full Senate that would require the secretaries of commerce and revenue to serve as the chair and treasurer of the authority’s board.

The $265,000 salary and $100,000 bonus paid to CEO Tom Thornton drew particular attention from committee members. Twelve of the agency’s 21 employees have salaries of more than $100,000, and a total of $106,000 was paid in bonuses to 12 employees other than Thornton, The Wichita Eagle reported.

“They’re very exorbitant for Kansas salaries,” said committee Chairwoman Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, adding that Thornton’s compensation is “four times the governor’s salary.”

The authority works to encourage biotechnology businesses to locate labs and other facilities in Kansas by promoting the state’s business climate and providing direct capital investment to emerging companies.

Sen. Jean Schodorf, R-Wichita, said although the authority works in the private sector and has to be run something like a business, “This is a government agency, government money, taxpayer money. To be handing out bonuses like this … it’s just shocking to me.”

The authority’s chief financial officer, Janice Katterhenry, told the Senate committee that executive compensation is set by the authority’s board, with guidance from Buck Consultants, a Xerox Corp. subsidiary that specializes in human resources.

Katterhenry was paid $175,000 and a $24,000 bonus in 2010, giving her the second-highest compensation at the agency.

Some senators urged their colleagues to be careful not to be so critical that it hurts the authority’s efforts to bring high-paying jobs to Kansas.

Sen. Jeff Longbine, R-Emporia, said undue controversy could discourage private-sector investors.

“If they thought they were going to be questioned every step of the way and they were going to be exposed and were given a feeling of (being) unwanted, they have the ability and will take advantage of the ability to locate somewhere else,” Longbine said.

But several senators also questioned the agency’s spending on entertainment and promotion, including $21,197 for its annual report, $20,750 for advertising to a trade magazine and $6,270 for a legislative reception.

Sen. Chris Steineger, R-Kansas City, said the agency’s spending is “the worst thing I’ve seen in 15 years of public office.”

“We’re paying them … to manage and invest our money wisely,” he said. “I think it’s obvious to everybody here that this money is not being spent wisely, it’s being spent to aggrandize and to have one hell of a lifestyle on the public dollar.”

The committee’s criticism comes amid questions from the Wichita State University Center of Innovation for Biomaterials in Orthopaedic Research, or CIBOR. Scientists there say they are not receiving a five-year, $20 million grant the authority promised to fund research on using aerospace composite materials to develop new medical devices.

Thornton, who was unable to attend Tuesday’s hearing, has denied that the authority committed to any funding for CIBOR beyond an initial $4 million investment. But some lawmakers contend the authority made presentations to them indicating it would help fund the CIBOR project.