JOHN HANNA

Associated Press

TOPEKA -- The Kansas Senate postponed debate on a plan to redraw members' districts after a stormy Republican meeting prompted the senator slated to defend the plan to walk out, declaring he wasn't "going to sit here and listen to this garbage."

Conservative and moderate Republican senators' feud over redistricting is part of a fierce struggle over which faction will control the chamber after this year's elections. Their impasse also has blocked plans for new congressional, Kansas House and State Board of Education districts, and threatens to delay the state's Aug. 7 primary election.

The plan that senators were scheduled to debate Tuesday has the support of moderate Republicans and most Democrats. GOP conservatives believe it's designed to keep the Senate's moderate GOP leaders in power and allow them to check conservative Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's agenda.

Many lawmakers believe alternatives offered by conservatives aim to help them oust the Senate's current leaders.

Tensions among Republicans have run high for weeks and their frustration boiled over during the pre-debate caucus Tuesday, resulting in the Senate rescheduling debate of the bill for Wednesday afternoon.

Conservatives peppered Sen. Tim Owens, chairman of the Reapportionment Committee and a moderate Overland Park Republican, with pointed questions. An exchange between Owens and Sen. Garrett Love, a conservative Montezuma Republican, grew testy when Love hashed over details of the proposal.

An irritated Owens snapped, "I am through arguing politics with you."

Sen. Julia Lynn, a conservative Olathe Republican, told Owens she couldn't accept the new lines for her district, adding, "I think you guys know that."

Owens then left the meeting.

"I'm out of here, because I'm not going to sit here and listen to this garbage," he said.

Conservatives demanded that aides summon Senate President Steve Morris, a moderate Hugoton Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler, a generally moderate Republican from Lindsborg, who were not present. Instead, the meeting broke up and senators returned to their chamber.

Morris later said he believed there was still a chance for GOP factions to broker a deal. He is among eight moderate incumbents targeted by conservatives in GOP primaries.

As for the caucus blowup, Morris said, "Unfortunately that kind of thing happens occasionally."

Lawmakers adjust the state's political boundaries to account for shifts in population every 10 years. A GOP precinct committee member from Olathe already has filed a federal lawsuit because many existing districts are far from the ideal population of about 71,000 residents.

The bill before the Senate would draw three conservative Republican candidates out of districts where they're challenging incumbent GOP senators. The measure also puts conservative Republican Sens. Steve Abrams of Arkansas City and Ty Masterson of Andover in the same district. Abrams has drafted multiple alternative redistricting plans favored by fellow conservatives.

Sen. Les Donovan, a conservative Wichita Republican, called the plan before senators Tuesday "ridiculous."

"We'll never get together to pass something," Donovan said during the caucus. "It's a waste of time."

The debate over Senate redistricting has been complicated because the House, where GOP conservatives have a majority, has become involved by blocking a plan narrowly approved by the Senate and backed by moderates. Decades of tradition dictate that each chamber draws a map for its own members but does not touch the other chamber's plan.

House Speaker Mike O'Neal, a conservative Hutchinson Republican, said the impasse could be resolved quickly -- if the parties talk.

"We are two hours away from having something they can all live with," O'Neal said.

Morris said he and Emler were conferring while GOP senators had their stormy caucus. He said the Republican factions were trying to draft an alternative to the bill on the Senate's calendar Tuesday, but couldn't manage it.

"This process is very difficult, obviously, to get something that's agreeable to everyone," he said. "We're not planning on passing a map that's detrimental to us."

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The proposal before the Senate is "Buffalo 30" under proposed plans on the Legislature's redistricting site.

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Online:

Kansas Legislature's redistricting site: http://redistricting.ks.gov

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