Government

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has told Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback that a new state law attempting to block federal regulation of some guns is unconstitutional and that the federal government is willing to go to court over the issue.

The U.S. attorney's office for Kansas on Thursday released a copy of a letter from Holder to Brownback.

Gov. Sam Brownback has named district court judges to fill two vacancies.

Brownback named Linda Gilmore of Liberal to replace Judge Kim Schroeder in the 26th District in southwest Kansas. Schroeder was appointed earlier to the Court of Appeals. The 26th District covers Grant, Haskell, Morton, Seward, Stanton and Stevens counties.

The governor also appointed Aaron Roberts of Kansas City, Kan., to fill an opening in the 29th District, which covers Wyandotte County. Roberts fills an opening left by the retirement of Judge Ernest Johnson.

Kansas Senator Jerry Moran says the next federal farm bill is likely to cut back or eliminate some farm subsidies. The Republican from Manhattan says that while many lawmakers are focused on cutting spending, he's hoping to protect money allocated to support the federal crop insurance program.

Moran says that Kansas farmers' need for crop insurance has been shown in recent years, with drought and late spring freezes among the challenges they've been facing.

State revenue officials say Kansas missed its expected revenue projections for April by less than $5 million dollars.

The monthly report was released Tuesday.

Kansas collected $764,800 dollars in taxes, though it expected just over $769 million for April.

Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan says Kansas collected $25 million dollars more in individual income taxes this April compared to last April.

Kansas legislative committees are taking separate paths to solve differences over the state's 2014 budget.

The House Appropriations Committee met Monday to review spending adjustments required by bills that have been signed into law. They're also getting an update on state revenue estimates.

The Senate, whose budget committee met last Thursday, plans to have a separate catch-all spending bill on its calendar when it returns.