He called for an end to the practice of misclassifying employees as contractors to avoid complying with federal immigration screening requirements. Employers who are diligent in complying should not be punished, he said.

McKinney spoke favorably of the Sunflower Electric Corporation's plan to expand a coal-fired generation plant at Holcomb.

Gov. Sebelius is right in looking at the environmental impact of coal- fired plants, McKinney said, the "dirtiest" of which is near Lawrence.

The answer to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, however, should be national, he said, and the $3 billion Holcomb project should go ahead.

Its biggest benefit for western and central Kansas may be the transmission lines Sunflower and its partners still say they will build, even after a permit for the plant was denied, McKinney said.

Those lines are needed to carry wind power to the region, he added.

As a matter of Kansas policy McKinney proposed a broad approach that included clean coal technology.

"We would say investing in newer, cleaner coal technology would help us,'" he said. "Then we can start working on cleaning up other coal-fired plants." Clean coal technology is two or three years away, McKinney said.

Gov. Sebelius was in Miami for the Orange Bowl and could not be reached for comment.

Of interest to Kansas policy makers are negotiations between Kansas City Power and Light and the Sierra Club that resolved environmental issues surrounding a new generating plant in northwest Missouri, McKinney said.

"I'm sure we'll get spirited debate in the Legislature this year," he said.

The need for housing to attract skilled workers goes beyond towns like Greensburg and those in Southeast Kansas hit by June floods, McKinney said.

He and Sen. Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, are working on a bill for a state housing grant program that would give communities input and simplify paperwork.

McKinney praised USDA Rural Development, part of the US Department of Agriculture, for its work at Greensburg.

The eight-term representative was not optimistic about passage of an increase in the cigarette tax to pay for health care reform. Polls show a majority of people support this step, he said, but smokers are adamantly against it.

"The people who pay that tax really don't like it," he said, implying opponents would work hard to kill the measure.

Health care reform is still high on the Legislature's agenda, McKinney said.

Lawmakers have authorized a pilot project in Topeka to let small businesses get together to purchase health insurance. If the outcome is good, he said, the policy can be expanded statewide.

McKinney offered two pieces of advice in preparing for disasters: a good pair of shoes and flashlights.

Shards of glass covered the ground after the tornado hit Greensburg near midnight and it was almost impossible for residents who jumped out of bed to walk around, McKinney said. In such situations you always need flashlights, he added.