The Kansas House budget committee has decided to make nice with the state’s judicial branch, reports The Hutchinson News.The committee has introduced a bill to eliminate a budget provision that was ruled unconstitutional by the state’s Supreme Court. Controversy erupted in 2014 when the Kansas Legislature adopted a bill to strip the Supreme Court of its authority to select district court judges. Last year the Legislature said if the Supreme Court ruled against this new provision, Kansas courts would lose all funding. Last month the Supreme Court ruled that Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature had overstepped their authority.
Meanwhile, a Wichita senator has introduced a bill limiting the number of children allowed to reside in a foster care home. Last year, Topeka City Councilman Jonathan Schumm and his wife were arrested for aggravated battery and child abuse. They had 16 children living with them, including 10 adoptees and 2 foster kids.