By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press

TOPEKA -- Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accused the House's top leader Thursday of starting a legislative "auction" to get votes to override her threatened veto of a bill allowing two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas.

Sebelius said she is "stunned" by talk that supporters expect to get enough votes by making trades on other issues. House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, a strong supporter of the bill, said opponents will "let me know what they want" on the budget and other issues.

"He seems to be inviting a legislative auction on a very important policy decision," Sebelius told The Associated Press. "I think their constituents would be disappointed that they would be playing 'Let's make a deal' with energy policy."

Neufeld, an Ingalls Republican, said the Democratic governor is misinterpreting his remarks.

"This isn't eBay," Neufeld said. "The comment I made is in regard to the fact that people are now telling me what they want. That doesn't mean I'm opening an auction and trading."

He also said Sebelius is promising legislators they won't have opponents in this year's elections if they vote with her, but he didn't list examples.

"That's a different issue," Neufeld said. "She can trade that if she wants to."

But Sebelius said: "I have had conversations with legislators about this issue all throughout the session and have never, at any point in any conversation, talked about anything but the energy policy we're making."

Supporters of the bill expected it to clear the Legislature easily but are lobbying for more votes because of Sebelius' expected veto.

The Senate was to vote on the bill Thursday, with only its approval needed to send the measure to Sebelius. The House approved it Wednesday.

The bill is a response to her administration's denial in October of an air-quality permit for Hays-based Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build the two coal-fired plants outside Holcomb, in Finney County. The $3.6 billion project has bipartisan legislative support, but environmentalists oppose it because of the plants' potential carbon dioxide emissions.

The measure not only gives Sunflower the go-ahead for its project but limits the secretary's power to deny future air-quality permits. It also restricts his power to set new limits on air pollution and greenhouse gases, such as CO2, linked to global warming.

Many legislators argue such limits are necessary to restore consistency and fairness to how the state regulates potential air hazards. Sebelius contends they'd prevent the secretary from protecting public health and the environment.

Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said Wednesday, "It's really not a question of if she'll veto, but when."

The governor said Thursday that she'll examine the bill when it reaches her desk but added, "I haven't seen much to recommend it highly to me."

And Sebelius said that if she vetoes the bill, as expected, and legislators sustain her veto, she'll continue to try to work out a compromise.

She's proposed allowing Sunflower to build one of its plants if it commits to investing in wind farms and conservation programs. Sunflower has rejected the deal, saying it needs two plants to keep out-of-state partners who will help finance the project.

"I fully intend to go back to the table with the proposal that I made at the outset," Sebelius said.

As the House and Senate have considered their own energy legislation, supporters worked to draft something that eventually would pick up two-thirds majorities in both chambers in both houses, the margin needed to override a veto. The final version was drafted by three senators and three House members.

Supporters in the Senate expected the measure to have more than the 27 of 40 votes necessary for a two-thirds majority. Senators passed an energy bill last month, 33-7.

The final version includes "green" provisions designed to attract the support of reluctant House members. The Senate debated none of them, but its leaders didn't think they'd cause problems in keeping a two-thirds majority.

Those provisions include a mandate that renewable resources, such as wind, account for 10 percent of the generating capacity by 2012 of investor-owned utilities and electric cooperatives. The figure would rise to 20 percent by 2020.

"We might lose a few votes, but it'll be because of crankiness and not content," said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, an Independence Republican.

The House has proven more difficult. Despite the green provisions, the vote there Wednesday was 75-47, with 84 of 125 votes necessary for a two-thirds majority. Supporters were at least six votes short, with three members not voting.

Still, Neufeld was confident he and other supporters can pick up enough votes to override the Democratic governor's veto.

"They'll let me know what they want," he said of opponents after Wednesday's vote in the House. "Some are budget. Some are other things. Some want bills run. Some want bills not run. That's how this place works."

On Thursday, Neufeld said, "I've made it very clear to everybody that I'm not trading any votes or anything on that energy issue."

"What that means is that we're finally hearing from people what's important to them," he said.