Topeka ? A Kansas Senate committee is considering a bill that would force cities and counties to turn over to the state more of the revenue they receive from traffic tickets.

Under Senate Bill 403, discussed Wednesday by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, any traffic ticket money revenue that exceeds 10 percent of a municipality’s annual revenue would go into the state’s general fund. Also, municipal courts would have to hand over 70 percent of all revenue they collect from traffic violations on highways.

The city of Lawrence is one of the entities fighting against the legislation. Lawrence officials sent written testimony to the Senate committee, saying the practice would be costly to implement and a burden on city staff. It would require new software to track the locations of citations, the testimony stated, and staff would be forced to allocate time to complete more financial reports for the state.

It’s also simply “unfair,” states the letter, signed by Mayor Mike Amyx.

“It is not the local governments, or its taxpayers, that caused the state’s financial crisis,” the letter reads.

Eric Smith, legal counsel for the League of Kansas Municipalities, was one of a number of people who showed up to testify against the bill. Nobody spoke in favor of it.

“I’m not sure what this bill’s intending to do except take money,” Smith said.

Any courts that don’t comply would be shut down until they do, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

The city of Lawrence took issue with the penalty, saying in its testimony that it’s “deeply disturbing.”

“To suspend a municipal court’s jurisdiction will only harm the innocent victims of crimes who will be further inconvenienced by delays and a transfer to District Court,” the letter reads.

Kansas City Municipal Court Judge Maurice Ryan said the legislation would cost his court $330,000 annually, on top of the more than $500,000 in revenue the city already sends to the state from traffic ticket revenue.

“This bill, as presented, while admirable, is a cure looking for a disease,” Ryan said.

He said the disease is when cities such as Ferguson, Mo., collect inordinate amounts of revenue from traffic violations and perpetuate a cycle of poverty.

Several opponents of the bill testified that no Kansas communities are comparable to Ferguson.

“We do not know of a city that’s receiving 10 percent,” said Ed Klumpp with the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police.

Lawrence officials said the city’s revenue from traffic infractions falls “well below” the 10 percent.

Law enforcement groups and other local government entities, including the Kansas Association of Counties and the city of Lindsborg, spoke against the measure.

The committee took no action on the legislation Wednesday.