Superbowl Champions. In case you somehow missed it, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl last week! Although the Chiefs are physically located in Missouri, (despite a high-profile tweet to the contrary) Kansans across the Sunflower State also love their Chiefs.
To allow Kansas lawmakers and staff the opportunity to participate in Wednesday’s parade, the Legislature shut down operations for the day. This was a highly unusual move but considering the magnitude of the long-sought championship no one can blame them for wanting to participate.
Even with a day off, there was plenty of time for the political heat to get turned up this week. On Friday the House voted to reject a resolution placing a constitutional amendment related to abortion on the statewide ballot this August. This amendment and Medicaid expansion are two major issues that brought with them significant political impact on how the session will play out. This vote will likely have repercussions all session long.
Taxation. Tax issues continue to garner a lot of attention. Proposals to increase the standard deduction for Kansas taxpayers and allowing Kansans to itemize their state return, even if using the federal standard deduction, are just two of the ideas in play. Perhaps most notable this week was discussion around SB 294. This bill is modeled after Utah’s Truth-In-Taxation plan and was subject of a Friday hearing by the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee.
The plan is pitched as a mechanism to provide more transparency for taxpayers and the property taxes they pay. Opponents raised concerns that provisions of the bill would add complexity; increase costs and create more restrictions on local units of government when creating their budgets.
A host of other bills related to property taxation and the appraisal process continue to be introduced and assigned to committee for consideration. Among them are:
- SB 263 – Requiring a current year property tax estimate on the annual notice of valuation.
- SB 272 – Prohibiting county appraisers and the state board of tax appeals form increasing the valuation of county appraised property in valuation appeals.
- SB 295 – Prohibiting property tax valuation increase solely as the result of normal repair, replacement or maintenance of existing structure.
Corporate Filings. Senator
Rob Olson introduced a bill (SB 251) that would allow businesses to file corporate reports biennially or triennially, rather than annually. The bill was heard by the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this week. Proponents argued the bill reduces the paperwork burden on businesses and the Secretary of State who must process the filings. There were no opponents although the Secretary of State’s office proposed small changes to accommodate system upgrades they are currently making to their office operations.
STAR Bonds. Commerce Secretary
David Toland presented to lawmakers an annual report on Sales Tax Revenue (STAR) Bonds. The bonds have become a lightning rod of sorts for lawmakers who have raised concerns with the program and its usage. In related action, HB 2529 was introduced to provide more guidance on the administration of the STAR Bond program and extend to 2025 the sunset provision that kicks in this July if no action is taken by the legislature this session.
Border War. In conjunction with his report on STAR Bonds, Commerce Secretary
David Toland also provided lawmakers with an update on the Border War with Missouri. Toland’s report included news that the Kansas City, Missouri, City Council passed an ordinance leveling the economic development playing field with Kansas by imposing a 10-year property tax abatement cap. Until this ordinance had passed, Kansas City, Missouri, was able to offer property tax abatements up to 25 years whereas Kansas communities are limited to 10 years.
This imbalance was a major point of contention between economic development professionals in Kansas and Missouri. Although this is another step in the right direction, the ordinance only pertains to Kansas City, Missouri. Other Missouri municipalities are still able to extend their abatements up to 25 years unless they too pass an ordinance.
Re-amortization. Part of Governor Laura Kelly’s budget plan for the year had few fans from the outset and nothing changed when the bill, HB 2503, authorizing re-amortization of KPERS – the state employee’s pension fund – was discussed in the House Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee on Monday. The concept was also attempted last session where it died for lack of support. It most likely faces the same fate again this year.
Workforce. Workforce shortages continue to draw a lot of attention within the business community and legislators are responding with several ideas to help close the gap. HB 2507 was introduced to help provide businesses with liability protection for high-school aged students they engage in work-based learning programs. HB 2416 seeks to provide businesses with incentives for employing Kansans with intellectual and developmental disabilities in an integrated setting. While neither of these ideas will solve the workforce shortage we face, they do remove obstacles and provide incentives to chip away at the problem.
Both bills will require work to clean up concerns raised by lawmakers and conferees before they can advance.
Revenue. The Kansas Department of Revenue released its latest numbers showing continued strength in collections. KDOR highlighted Compensating Use Tax collections that came in 26.9% higher than the same month last year. KDOR indicates the strong growth is attributable to online shopping and an increase in the number of remote sellers who are remitting the tax.
Overall, tax collections came in at $725.5 million which is 12.3% higher than January of FY 2019. Individual and corporate tax collections also outpaced projections. For full details,
click here.
Upcoming Events:
Public Policy Committee Meeting. The next meeting of the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee will be noon-1:30 p.m. on Friday,
February 14 at the Chamber. Our guest is Director of the Budget
Larry Campbell.
Legislative Policy Series.
Lunch #3 in our series held in conjunction with the Johnson County Public Policy Council begins at noon on Tuesday,
April 7. Panelists will be Senators Molly Baumgardner, Barbara Bollier and John Skubal and Representatives David Benson, Tom Cox, Jarrod Ousley and Jerry Stogsdill. For more information or to make reservations,
click here.