"It appeared that it was going to get bogged down," said Senate Majority Leader Jay Emler, a Lindsborg Republican who supported the move.

Republicans control both chambers, and some GOP lawmakers have long wanted to enact the paycheck deduction proposal. They contend it will protect workers from having to finance causes or candidates they don't support.

Critics see the measure as an attempt by some Republicans to hinder fundraising by unions, which are reliable supporters of Democrats. They also contend it violates the free speech rights of unions and their members and suggest a legal challenge is likely.

The House approved a "paycheck protection" bill in February. But with Senate GOP leaders cooler toward it than their House counterparts, the bill stalled in committee in the Senate.

It's common as the Legislature attempts to wrap up its business for the year for lawmakers who support a bill that's stalled to try to salvage it by making it an issue in negotiations on other legislation. And legislative leaders have said it's crucial for Kansas to rewrite its unemployment tax laws, which tap businesses to finance benefits for unemployed workers.

"It's frustrating," said Eric Stafford, a lobbyist for the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. "We don't want the unemployment bill to be caught up in the games between the two chambers."

The state must repay $171 million in loans made to it by the federal government last year to cover benefits for unemployed workers, as well as up to $8 million in interest. Without a bill, Kansas Department of Labor officials said, the state will face federal penalties, because state law doesn't allow the interest payments.

The Senate's version of the bill adjusted the tax laws to raise an additional $236 million from employers over the next three years. Yet business groups supported it, viewing it as promoting the long-term financial stability of the unemployment system.

Also, state officials say the House's version — avoiding the tax increase — will force the state to borrow additional funds from the federal government this year.

"The House version is absolutely ludicrous," Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said during the Senate's debate Monday.

Some of Waggle's colleagues shrugged off the criticism Tuesday.

She also supports the paycheck deduction bill. Democrats suspect that she planned to give in to House members' demand, wed the proposal to the Senate's version of the unemployment tax legislation and tell senators in the final hours of the Legislature's session that the package absolutely had to pass.

"I'm here to tell you, that's exactly what she's going to do," Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat said during a news conference last week. "That is the end game."

Wagle said Tuesday that she would have held firm against including the paycheck deduction bill, having told House negotiators it wouldn't pass the Senate.

House GOP negotiators were pleased — and amused — that the Senate approved the version of the unemployment tax legislation they favored. The paycheck deduction bill, though stalled in the Senate, remains alive for next year's legislative session.

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The unemployment tax bill is SB 77. The paycheck deduction bill is HB 2130.