By SARAH KESSINGER

Harris News Service

TOPEKA -- Kansas senators sent a strong message to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday with a 33-7 bipartisan vote in favor of building new coal-fired power plants near Holcomb.

The vote on a bill to clear the way for the project surpassed the two-thirds majority mark, indicating senators could try to override a likely Sebelius veto later this session.

A similar House bill is slated for floor debate in the lower chamber Monday, with a final vote by Tuesday.

"We're very pleased. It's a major step forward," said Sunflower Electric Power Corp. President Earl Watkins after the Senate's action.

Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby denied air-quality permits for Sunflower's plants last fall, saying carbon dioxide emissions could worsen global climate change.

Watkins has spent recent weeks at the Statehouse urging lawmakers to reverse Bremby's decision and endorse their plan to build two coal plants next to an existing generator in Finney County.

"Today's vote by the Senate puts us further down the path to securing a permit," said Lee Boughey, spokesman for Denver-based Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, which intends to use the new power plants to supply rural electric cooperatives in nearby states.

Bremby said he blocked the plants last year based on his authority to protect Kansans' health and environment.

Most Kansas senators sought to counter that Thursday by passing the bill that removes Bremby's authority to limit CO2, which is not regulated by state or federal law.

Most Johnson County lawmakers said the state's western half needed the economic development promised by the plant.

"We need to set aside the politics and allow this project to go forward as soon as possible," said Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe.

The vote stirred criticism from those who say Kansas should capitalize on wind energy rather than create new greenhouse gases.

"Why rural legislators are not interested in that is incomprehensible to me," said Dan Nagengast, executive director of the Kansas Rural Center of Whiting. "Though not the first mistake we've ever made, this could be one of the most far-reaching."

Thursday's measure passed with several senators asking to explain their vote for the Senate record, an indication of the pressure they face from plant supporters and opponents.

Sebelius remains skeptical of the measure, spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said.

"She wasn't fond of the bill as introduced, and the Senate Committee removed all of the 'green features' before passing it, so it got worse," Corcoran said. "We will be watching this legislation closely as it works through the process."