Topeka ? For the hundreds of Kansas students who serve each year as legislative pages, the check will no longer be in the mail.

Senators approved a bill on Thursday that would end the practice of paying each page with a $3 check for their day’s service. Instead, legislators have decided to give them a $5 voucher to be used at the Statehouse snack shop.

The Senate approved the bill 40-0, sending it to Gov. Sam Brownback for his signature. The House approved the bill 109-2 on Feb. 17.

Sen. Dick Kelsey, a Goddard Republican, says the present practice of issuing a check costs the state $6 per check to process, not counting postage or the $3 value. He says many of the checks aren’t ever cashed.