TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The Appropriations Committee in the Kansas House appears ready to close one of 21 residential cottages at the state's hospital for the developmentally disabled in Topeka.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/XotAP2 ) that the move is designed to free up money to provide services for developmentally disabled Kansas in their homes.

Appropriations Committee Chairman and Newton Republican Marc Rhoades said consolidating operations at the Kansas Neurological Institute is a bipartisan idea. The committee is looking at closing the least utilized cottage.

The hospital has space for 160 residents and last year had a population of 153.

In 2011, Gov. Sam Brownback proposed shutting down KNI over three years and moving residents to community programs or a state hospital in Parsons. Local officials and residents' families objected, blocking the idea.