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Committee Passes Bill To Overhaul Civil Service

A Kansas House committee has advanced a bill that would overhaul the state's civil service system.

The bill would change some types of positions so they would not be covered by civil service protections.

An attorney for the American Federation of Teachers last week said the change could lead to hiring and firing employees based on their politics. But the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Newton republican Marc Rhoades, called that claim "a little ridiculous."

“And to say that we have agencies, secretaries, and whatever, department superintendents that are going to fire somebody just because they don't agree on something, but they're a good worker? I think that’s a little bit shallow. I don't think that happens as much as people think it might,” Rhoades said.

Some positions would be exempt from the change. Rhoades said the move would allow department heads more flexibility in managing resources, and give them the ability to reward innovation or good performance.

The bill will now go before the full Kansas House.