State government

In the final day, the House and Senate came together to tie up loose ends to school finance after negotiations with the governor’s office, and finalized the state budget by injecting cash into universities, increasing pay for judges and restricting the use of vaccine passports.

Lawmakers agreed to a budget deal Friday to inject cash into state universities, renovate the Docking State Office Building, increase pay for judges, restrict the use of vaccine passports, and leave the state with a $541 million reserve.

A bipartisan education bill embraced by Gov. Laura Kelly appeared headed Friday for approval as the Legislature committed the state to limiting reliance on remote instruction in public schools and to expansion of student eligibility for private school scholarships.

Rep. Randy Garber delivered an apology to American Indians during a prayer ceremony Thursday on the south steps of the Kansas Statehouse, recognizing the country’s “long history of official depredations and ill-conceived policies.”

A member of the Kansas House is calling on Rep. Mark Samsel, charged with misdemeanor battery for a physical altercation with a Wellsville student, to resign for behavior unsuitable for a state lawmaker.

The Kansas House generated enough Republican support Monday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a pair of election bills touted by advocates as essential to fair elections and as voter suppression by critics.

The Kansas House moved Monday to override the governor’s veto of a package of distinctive license plates, drawing the ire of Democrats for the inclusion of a plate which they say honors a notorious slave trader.