By STEPHEN KORANDA

Kansas lawmakers considered tighter rules on payday lending during a committee meeting Wednesday, but they ultimately decided not to recommend more regulations for the short-term loans.

Republican Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine chairs the Special Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance. He said Kansas officials should wait to see the effects of federal regulations recently released on the issue.

Some members of the committee weren’t happy with the lack of action. Rep. Randy Powell, an Olathe Republican, said the industry needs more regulation.

“I’m not a big government guy. I don’t like to see unnecessary regulation, but when you’re looking at 270 percent, 330 percent interest … they walk into these things having no idea what they’re getting into,” Powell said.

The committee could have recommended legislation for lawmakers to consider when the session starts in January. The bill before them to cap interest rates and add other requirements to short-term loans will still be available for consideration.

Alex Horowitz, a research officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts, told the committee that small loans can be a useful service for people — within limits.

“They can help people get through difficult stretches, but only if structured appropriately at affordable prices,” Horowitz said.

He noted that the short-term loans often carry high interest rates, which can mean that, for example, someone borrowing $300 for a five-month period would have to pay back a total of $750.

Claudette Humphrey used short-term loans in the past. She now works with Catholic Charities of Northern Kansas on a program that helps people get out from under that type of debt.

“People who live on fixed incomes and limited incomes are our most vulnerable,” Humphrey said. “I understand that maybe they didn’t pull themselves up by the bootstraps as some people think they can, but sometimes you don’t have bootstraps.”

Brad Smoot is with Anderson Financial Services, which runs LoanMax Title Loans. He said the bill the committee was considering could kill the industry, taking away an option for people who need short-term cash.

“It’s a good alternative to other lending options or no lending options, which unfortunately some people are faced with,” Smoot said.

Whitney Damron, who spoke to the committee on behalf of the Kansas Consumer Financial Services Association, said decisions about the loans should be left up to Kansans.

“Customers of payday loan lenders are qualified to make financial decisions for themselves without government interference,” Damron said.

Longbine said one issue people often don’t recognize is that ballooning interest costs are usually caused by having the short-term loans reissued over and over.

“Oftentimes, the companies are blamed for the cost of the loan, when had the loan been repaid on schedule, the cost would have been minimal,” Longbine said.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s executive order on health care (all times local):

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to make lower-premium health care plans available to more Americans.

The president says the order will provide what he calls “Obamacare relief” for millions of Americans.

Trump is relying on the executive order because the Republican-controlled Congress has been unable to pass a plan to repeal and replace the Obama-era health care law.

Trump says the health care system “will get better” with his action, and the action will cost the federal government nothing.

The president says he still wants Congress repeal and replace the Obama health care law. But his says his order will give people more competition, more choices and lower premiums.

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3:38 a.m.

President Donald Trump has made no secret he’s frustrated with the failure of Congress to repeal and replace “Obamacare.”

Now Trump will try to put his own stamp on health care with an executive order that aims to make lower-premium insurance plans available to more consumers. He will unveil his plan Thursday.

Administration officials say it will let groups and associations sponsor coverage that can be marketed across the land, reflecting Trump’s longstanding belief that interstate competition will lead to lower premiums.

Trump’s move is likely to encounter opposition from medical associations, consumer groups and even insurers — the same coalition that has blocked congressional Republicans. They say it would raise costs for the sick, while the lower-premium coverage for healthy people would come with significant gaps.

SCOTT COUNTY— A Kansas man charged in a September 22, fatal shooting was granted a court continuance Wednesday at the request of his defense attorney, according to Scott County Attorney Rebecca Farout.

Rene Inguanza, 50, of rural Scott County, is charged with Aggravated Battery and First-Degree Murder, in the death of Darryn Rodenberg.

Just after 10p.m. on September 22, deputies responded to report of a shooting at a rural residence in Scott County, according to Undersheriff Jeff Pounds.

They located 44-year-old Darryn Rodenberg dead from a gunshot wound. Deputies found Inguanza in a pickup approximately one-half mile from Rodenberg’s residence and arrested him without incident.

An investigation revealed that Inguanza was angry and accused Rodenberg of selling drugs to his son, according to Pounds. During a confrontation Inguanza allegedly shot Rodenberg.

Inguanza remains jailed in Scott County on a $500,000 Bond, according to Farout.  The preliminary hearing is now scheduled for November 9.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A woman accused of fleeing from Kansas to Russia with her children amid a divorce has been indicted on a charge of international parental kidnapping.

The U.S. attorney’s office says grand jurors returned the indictment Wednesday against 37-year-old Bogdana Alexandrovna Mobley. She was arrested last month in Wichita, and investigators believe her three children remain in Russia.

Prosecutors say she left the U.S. three years ago with one child from her first marriage and another child from a second marriage. She gave birth to a third child about two months after returning to Russia.

Prosecutors say she allowed her ex-husband to communicate with the children by cellphone or Skype. He flew to meet her on the border of Poland and Russia in 2015 but wasn’t allowed to see the children.

LEAVENWORTH COUNTY ‑The Kansas City Chiefs won’t play the Steelers until Sunday but the Pittsburg quarterback has new fans in Kansas.

The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation this week selected the Bonner Springs Police Department’s K-9 program for a grant.

On social media they shared “Officer Bargerstock, and K-9 Scout would like to thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for choosing our department to receive a grant for our K-9 program. We are grateful for the grant opportunity the foundation provides to Police Departments and their K-9’s across the nation, and that we could be a part of it.”

Roethlisberger is scheduled to face the Chiefs at 3:25 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating after encouraged motorists keep an eye on their bank account if you use cards to pay for fuel.

Police found two skimming devices on a gas pump in Riley County Wednesday. While it’s good that these two were found, there is a chance there may be others that haven’t been located, according to a social media report.

In March police in Manhattan responded to separate calls from local gas stations reporting they had found “skimmers” or devices that can be used to obtain credit or debit card information from customers paying at the pump.

In July police reported skimmers on Bank ATMs in Garden City and Salina.

Police reminded there are different types of skimmers. Some are external on gas pumps or ATMs, but can blend in and other are internal and steal your information electronically.
They encouraged motorist be aware when you fill up, and notice if something is different at the pump
Look to make sure security seals are not broken, watch your bank statements regularly and Report criminal activity when it happens

KANSAS CITY —The FBI is seeking the public’s assistance across the nation with obtaining identifying information regarding an unknown female who may have critical information pertaining to the identity of a child victim in an ongoing sexual exploitation investigation, according to a media release.

The unidentified woman being sought—known only as Jane Doe 39—can be seen in a video with a child who is being sexually exploited.

The video was obtained during an FBI investigation and forwarded to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), an organization that works closely with the Bureau to stop child predators. Further investigation revealed that the images have surfaced elsewhere online, said Special Agent Susan Romash, who investigates child exploitation cases as part of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children program. “We know the video has been traded on the Internet,” Romash said, “and we know this child is a victim who needs our help.”

In the video, an adult woman is heard speaking Vietnamese, and at one point her face is shown. “Our hope,” Romash said, “is that someone will recognize this individual’s face—or her voice—and come forward with information.”

The publicity efforts to identify and apprehend Jane Doe 39 are part of the FBI’s Operation Rescue Me and Endangered Child Alert Program (ECAP) initiatives.

Operation Rescue Me identifies child victims of sexual exploitation by using sophisticated image analysis to obtain evidence. ECAP seeks public and media assistance to help identify the John and Jane Does who display their faces—and other distinguishing characteristics such as tattoos—in pornographic images and videos of children.

The FBI has a longstanding partnership with NCMEC, which maintains a database of pornographic images traded online to help law enforcement coordinate and solve investigations. Working closely with NCMEC, FBI investigators look for metadata embedded within images that might contain GPS or other details that can reveal critical information.

“We also search for clues within the images,” Romash said. “Those clues often help us determine where the image was produced or who created it. If those approaches don’t work,” she explained, “but there is an adult in the image whose face is shown, we publicize it through ECAP and ask for the public’s help.”

“We know the video has been traded on the Internet, and we know this child is a victim who needs our help.” said Susan Romash, special agent, FBI Headquarters

The video depicting Jane Doe 39 and a child victim was first noted by NCMEC in April 2016. The woman is described as an Asian female, likely between the ages of 25 and 35, with long black hair. She is wearing a white, yellow, blue, and red floral dress. In addition, she could be heard speaking Vietnamese.

Anyone with information can submit a tip online or call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Since its inception in 2004, ECAP has resulted in the identification of 26 of the 39 John/Jane Does, and in the recovery of more than 40 child victims. Operation Rescue Me, established in 2008, has resulted in the recovery of more than 200 child victims. “These programs work,” Romash said, “and we are again asking for the public’s help to save an innocent child from being victimized.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas inmate accused of stabbing and injuring a corrections officer has been charged in the case.

Allen Thomas Schroeder Jr., 27, was bound over to for trial after a preliminary hearing Tuesday. He’ll be arraigned Thursday.

Shawnee County corrections officer Lacy Noll alleges Schroeder became angry after she threatened to write him up for screaming and inciting a riot in April.

She says Schroeder was initially upset because all the inmates in the module he was in were on lockdown at the same time.

Witnesses testify that Schroeder sharpened a broken drawer handle to stab Noll. She says she was struck on her face, back and shoulder.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A third teenager has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to a fatal shooting outside at a fast-food restaurant in Kansas.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 19-year-old Ernest Williams IV has been charged in the death of 18-year-old Justice Mitchell.

Topeka police say Williams was in the passenger seat of a car driven by Mitchell on June 26, when another suspect, 17-year-old Lamero Dunstan, was trying to buy marijuana from Mitchell.

Authorities say Dustan told investigators he heard a click of a gun held by Williams that failed to fire. Authorities say Dunstan then fired two shots at Mitchell because he assumed Mitchell had a gun.

Williams is jailed on a $1 million bond. A court date hasn’t been scheduled.

Dunstan and another 17-year-old are also charged in the case.

HARPER COUNTY — A third earthquake this week shook portions of Kansas Wednesday. The quake at 6:29p.m. measured a magnitude 3.1 and was centered approximately ten miles northwest of Harper, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

On Tuesday a magnitude 2.5 quake was centered approximately 19 miles southeast of Salina, according to the USGS.  On Sunday a 2.6 magnitude quake was centered four miles east of Harper.

There are no reports of damage or injury from Wednesday’s quake.