TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A special Kansas legislative committee on public school funding is having its first meeting next month to start work on a response to a state Supreme Court order to boost funding.

The committee is scheduled to convene Dec. 4 at the Statehouse.

The Supreme Court ruled in October that state aid to public schools remains constitutionally inadequate even with a new law phasing in a $293 million increase over two years to make it $4.3 billion annually. The court directed lawmakers to enact a new law before July.

The committee’s chairman is Republican Rep. Blaine Finch of Ottawa. He also is the House Judiciary Committee’s chairman.

The panel’s 11 members include the Senate majority and minority leaders and the chairs of the House and Senate budget committees.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas police departments do not identify officers involved in fatal shootings, and body camera footage from the incidents may never become public.

Records in unsolved criminal cases can remain closed indefinitely, even to victims’ families.

The Kansas City Star reports that grieving families can wait years to get answers about relatives who’ve been killed, and weak state transparency laws can allow law enforcement agencies to avoid public scrutiny.

And Kansas is less open than other states, including neighboring Missouri.

Kansas in 2014 became the last state in the nation to open affidavits spelling out the details behind arrests, though judges in some counties still seal them.

Authorities defend keeping records closed by citing the need for thorough investigations or to protect officers.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and asking for assistance to find suspects.

Just after 11p.m. Saturday, police responded to calls of multiple gunshots in the area of NW Fairchild and NW Jackson in Topeka, according to Captain Scott Gilchrist.

Officers located a man later identified as 36-year-old David Davis, down in front of 1114 NW Jackson suffering from life threating gunshot wounds.

EMS transported Davis to local hospital and is in critical condition and he died.

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Topeka Police Department.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

The 2017 Kansas election is officially in the books, as counties finished most of the work finalizing their results Thursday.

This was the first election since local races were moved to the fall, and voter turnout was up in many areas. Shawnee County saw turnout of around 19 percent, a jump of about 5 percentage points compared to recent local elections.

Election Commissioner Andrew Howell said when local elections occurred in the spring, they came soon after federal voting, which may have led to voter fatigue and lower turnout.

“Some of us are worn out with the ads, with the emotional event of a presidential election,” Howell said. “I do think giving some time helps.”

Johnson, Douglas and Wyandotte counties also reported higher voter turnout. Sedgwick County turnout was similar to the last local election but saw jumps in areas with contested races.

While the local elections are nonpartisan, the state political parties still play a part in the elections with recruitment and fundraising.

John Gibson, chairman of the Kansas Democratic Party, said the move made reaching out to voters easier because people are used to casting ballots in the fall.

“Back when these were spring elections, people would be surprised and shocked that there was an election happening,” Gibson said.

The new election cycle also benefited candidates. Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kelly Arnold said the old schedule, where local elections were right on the heels of a federal election, compressed the campaign into only a couple months. That made fundraising and outreach more difficult.

Arnold called moving the elections to the fall a “great benefit.”

“It gave the party time to recruit candidates. It gave our candidates time to campaign and get their message out,” Arnold said.

He said there are also more practical benefits, like better weather for campaigning.

“Have you ever tried to put a yard sign in the ground in February? It’s very difficult,” Arnold said.

Gibson said the change also offers another benefit to the parties, which have organizational meetings early in the year. The move gave new party leaders more time to prepare before the election. He was selected for the top job in the Democratic Party in late February.

“Having the fall election gave us time, at a state party level, to be thinking about them in ways that were not really possible for the Kansas Democratic Party in the past,” Gibson said.Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) – An Independence man faces charges after being accused of threatening Lee’s Summit police with a rifle.

Jackson County prosecutors say 30-year-old Richard Connely has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Authorities say officers had been called to a Lee’s Summit apartment complex Friday for a report of someone stealing from cars. Officers stopped a man believed to be Connely driving a pickup from the complex to question him. The officers say he fled in the truck, and that when the officers gave chase, Connely slowed and pointed a rifle at the officers. Police say the man later tossed items out of the truck as he fled, including the rifle.

Police say Connely fled on foot after wrecking the truck around Grandview, and was later found and arrested.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers from across the political spectrum say they’ll push to fix the state’s culture of secrecy after a newspaper highlighted alarming levels of opacity in state and local government.

The Kansas City Star reports that Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer pledged last week to address the problem of transparency. Colyer is set to take over as governor if Gov. Sam Brownback is confirmed as an ambassador.

The Star’s series on secrecy highlighted several examples of state and local agencies hiding information from the public. Examples include KanCare recipients who were asked to sign blank plans of care.

Colyer didn’t weigh in on specific questions raised in the series, nor did he offer policy moves he’d pursue to increase transparency, as some of his competitors for the 2018 Republican nomination did.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal agency and the state of Kansas are at odds over whether Kansas took nearly $18 million in federal funds that it shouldn’t have.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General alleges Kansas improperly counted some children when seeking bonus payments to offset Medicaid costs.

The office’s November report audited bonus payments from 2009 and 2013, and recommends the state refund the money.

The state maintains that it followed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ guidelines for calculating the number of children enrolled in the program.

A spokeswoman for the state’s Medicaid program says the inspector general’s office hasn’t sought the funds’ return, but only issued a recommendation.

The report comes as KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, seeks reauthorization.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an injury accident that injured a 13-year old boy.

Just before 6p.m. Friday, police were sent to the intersection of Schilling and Royal Drive in Salina after a report of a child struck by a car, according to Sgt. Brent Rupert.

He said a Chevy Aveo was westbound on Schilling and attempted to pass a Chevy Camaro that was waiting to turn left onto Royal Drive.

The Aveo drove into eastbound traffic before cutting back in front of the Camaro, according to Rupert. The Aveo locked up the brakes before striking the boy crossing the street on a scooter. The impact threw the boy nearly 30-feet, according to Rupert. A girl was also crossing the street was not injured.

The boy was transported to Salina Regional Health Center in critical condition, according to Rupert. He was then transferred by ambulance to Wesleyan Medical Center in Wichita.

Police made no arrests and released no additional details on Saturday.