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Lawmakers Approve Bill To Boost Kansas Highway Patrol Numbers

Madeleine Deaton
/
Flickr Creative Commons

It could soon cost slightly more to register vehicles in Kansas. Lawmakers have approved a bill that would increase vehicle registration fees to help fund the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Republican Rep. Virgil Peck opposes the move, because he says they could divert existing registration money instead of adding the new $3.25 fee.

“We have a way to fund it other than this increase. I do not support increasing vehicle registration fees on Kansas vehicle owners by nearly $10 million,” Peck said.

Supporters say the extra funding will help boost the number of state troopers and support the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. Republican Rep. Blaine Finch says the highways in his home of Franklin County have been affected by the trooper shortage.

“We had two troopers who would handle helping motorists, traffic enforcement, drug intervention along I-35. We now have zero,” Finch says.

The bill passed the House on a 92-27 vote, sending it to Gov. Sam Brownback for consideration.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.