Legislation authorizing $1.5 billion in bonds to bolster the Kansas pension system for teachers and government workers has stalled in the state Senate, and one advocate said Wednesday that the bill is dead in the water.

The Montana House on Thursday backed proposed pension fixes from both sides of the aisle and delayed a final decision on which way to go.

A proposal for issuing $1.5 billion in bonds to boost the long-term health of Kansas' public pension system advanced Thursday in the state Legislature, but Republican lawmakers who want to put new government employees into a 401(k)-style plan abandoned an effort to pass such a bill this year.

A proposal to shore up the long-term finances of a pension system for state and local government workers in New Mexico cleared the Legislature on Wednesday and heads to Republican Gov. Susana Martinez.