Legislature may wind up wrap-up session

By Scott RothschildTOPEKA — The guessing game now begins on whether Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will veto a bill that will require voters to show photo identification cards at the polls. In 2003, Sebelius vetoed a bill that had photo ID but she has declined to say what she will do with this measure. The new bill would start the photo ID requirements during the 2010 elections. People over 65 would be exempt, and there are provisions for low-income voters to get free ID cards. Republicans say photo ID at the polls is needed to thwart voter fraud. Democrats say there is no evidence of vote fraud in Kansas. They say they are concerned that the requirement will decrease voter participation. Legislature setting up coal veto showdown (Lawrence Journal-World) Call it Coal 3. For the third time in the 2008 legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that would authorize the construction of two 700-megawatt coal-fired power plants and strip the state of authority to block similar projects.State Supreme Court rules in Tiller case (Kansas City Star) The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s system for citizen-petitioned grand juries is constitutional, but justices placed restrictions on grand juries, including how they obtain abortion records.Advocates lobby for disabled services (Wichita Eagle) It was a loud day at the state Capitol as people with disabilities and their supporters tried to shout their way to additional funding. Faced with a possible freeze on funding for services that keep the disabled out of nursing homes, about 60 to 70 people lined hallways into the House and Senate for a noisy protest.Turbine plant may hinge on coal bill (Topeka Capital-Journal) Conflict over the proposed Holcomb coal-fired plant jeopardized an income tax break sought by a company considering Topeka for a $150 million wind turbine manufacturing facility. The Senate passed, and the House was due to vote today, on a last-ditch effort to obtain authorization for expansion of the southwest Kansas coal plant, which already has been vetoed twice by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. The third round of the fight is different because the bill now contains a handful of significant economic development initiatives.