TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators from both parties called Friday for Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration to quickly increase pay for corrections officers at state prisons, arguing that a dangerous safety crisis is looming.

Staffing shortages and the potential for inmate unrest are serious enough that pay raises to attract and retain employees can't wait until lawmakers convene in January, Republican Rep. J.R. Claeys said. Claeys, chairman of a House budget subcommittee on public safety, said the Legislature should meet by September to approve salary hikes.

Claeys has already p...