Kansas House panel tables bill blocking Overland Park annexation

“They just want the opportunity to express themselves in the voting booth.”

TOPEKA | The Kansas Legislature is usually reluctant to get in the middle of a local fight, and the Overland Park annexation squabble is no exception.

After the Johnson County Commission approved an 8.5-square-mile annexation last month, rural residents still hoped that a bill in the Kansas House would stop it.

The measure had a powerful sponsor, Majority Leader Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican who represents much of the newly annexed area.

But Merrick and annexation opponents suffered a major setback this week when the committee assigned to consider the bill tabled it for the year. Read more