Hutchinson legislator Patsy Terrell dies

First-term legislator Patsy Terrell died Wednesday in Topeka only hours after voting to override Gov. Sam Brownback’s veto of a package of tax increases intended to generate about $1.2 billion over the next two years.

Terrell, D-Hutchinson, “was proud of her work in the legislature and gave it her full commitment,” said an e-mailed statement from Heather Sprague, spokeswoman for House Democratic leader Jim Ward.

Terrell, 55, represented the 102nd District in the Kansas House. She was found dead in the hotel room she stayed in during the session, Ward said Wednesday night.

Ward, Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, and others who had voted to override the veto went out to eat together and celebrate.

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