Kansas patrol chief’s appointment endorsed by Senate panel

? Gov. Sam Brownback’s appointment of a veteran Kansas Highway Patrol officer as the agency’s superintendent has been endorsed by a state Senate committee.

The Federal and State Affairs Committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend the confirmation of Maj. Mark Bruce as the patrol’s leader. The action sends Bruce’s appointment to the full Senate.

Bruce has served 25 years with the patrol and was named to its top job in January after Superintendent Ernest Garcia retired.

Meanwhile, another key Brownback appointee faces a confirmation hearing Tuesday.

The Public Health and Welfare Committee plans to consider Susan Mosier’s appointment as secretary of the Department of Health and Environment.

She’s held the job since former Secretary Robert Moser’s resignation in November and previously ran KDHE’s Division of Health Care Finance.