TIAK Talk is published monthly for members of the Travel Industry Association of Kansas.
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PRESIDENT'S REPORT
By Jim Zaleski
Serving at the Pleasure of the Membership
Spring has sprung! Or here in Kansas, we can say that at least it's teasing us about getting warmer. But, we all know, just stick around for 15 minutes and things might change.
In all seriousness, there is a definite new optimism as we enter the warmer months, and this has always been my favorite time of year. As the photo below shows, my mind tends to wander on the weekends. So if you need to get a hold of me, be prepared to leave a message at the beep. My cell doesn’t get reception on the lake.
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As we look forward to the travel and tourism industry beginning anew and us hanging our “open for business” signs again, the marketing of a reopened Kansas will bring a unique test to all of us. The TIAK Annual Conference committee is working hard to put together a great line-up of sessions and speakers to provide the tools we will need for this challenge. I for one can’t wait to see you all in Liberal. What we face in the near future will be something like we've never seen before, and I am confident that with the partnership of the state tourism department, we will take great strides in marketing a fully renewed tourism industry in our great state.
But before the annual conference, I am looking forward to seeing all of you face-to-face or at least mask-to-mask (for now) in Salina this June for our educational session. Be sure to visit the TIAK website and register for this great event being provided by our education committee on June 10 from 11:30am - 2:00pm. The cost to register is $25 and includes a boxed lunch.
We're honored to have Glenna Phillips with the Central Kansas Mental Health Center speak to us on mental health and how our bodies and minds process and handle toxic stress. Don't miss out on learning new ways to manage stress during these uncertain times. I also understand we will be handling stress the old-fashioned way the night before at the Blue Skye Brewery & Eats in downtown Salina, so please join us there as well.
I am sure plenty of conversation about the legislature winding down for the summer will be had, as we rekindle old friendships and make new ones. Speaking of the legislature, they have thrown tourism yet another curveball in a controversial piece of legislation that could cost the tourism industry and the state of Kansas tens of millions of dollars. Be sure to stay tuned to the legislative updates sent out by Bright & Carpenter as our leadership works behind the scenes to put tourism's best foot forward. In Kansas, the legislature is much like the weather, stick around for 15 minutes and it might just change.
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May Tourism Huddle
TIAK and Kansas Tourism will host our next virtual huddle on Wednesday, May 12 at 1:00 PM. Details coming soon, but Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of Commerce David Toland will be joining us!
Questions should be submitted in advance to office@tiak.org; and there will be a maximum of 250 participants. Each update will be recorded and made available online to anyone that can't participate live.
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June Educational Seminar: Mental Health
Join us on June 10 from 11:30am - 2:00pm in Salina for our next TIAK educational seminar.
We're honored to have Glenna Phillips with the Central Kansas Mental Health Center speak to us on mental health and how our bodies and minds process and handle toxic stress. Don't miss out on learning new ways to manage stress during these uncertain times.
The cost to register is $25 and includes a boxed lunch.
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National Travel & Tourism Week: May 2-8
May 2-8, 2021 marks the 38th annual National Tourism Week (NTW) celebration. It’s a time when travel and tourism professionals across the country unite to celebrate the value travel holds for our economy, businesses and personal well-being.
While NTW celebrations were held virtually in 2020 as travel buckled under the growing rise in Covid cases, this year we are hopeful that this industry is taking a turn for the better. As such, we are proud to be a part of the #PowerOfTravel and know that our Kansas communities play an essential role in rebuilding our industry and the U.S. economy.
Let’s take a peek at the monumental impact travel has on the Kansas economy:
- $7.3 billion was spent by 36.5 million visitors to Kansas in 2019
- Visitor spending has increased $775 million since 2015
- 15¢ of each visitor dollar is spent in a Kansas retail store
- A traveler is worth $200 per day to Kansas
- Overnight visitors represent 40% of all visits to Kansas
- $613 million in new capital investment for tourism projects
- 66,007 direct tourism jobs in Kansas
- Each Kansas household would be taxed an additional $600 to replace the tax revenue generated by tourism
Check out TIAK's blog post on NTTW for more information!
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Veto Session Preview
Kansas lawmakers wrapped up the first part of the 2021 Legislative Session on April 9 and will return to Topeka on Monday, May 3 after a three-week spring break. The scheduled two-week veto session will give lawmakers time to attempt any veto overrides, pass an omnibus budget, and wrap up outstanding conference committee reports.
First item of business? Probably tax cuts.
Governor Kelly vetoed Senate Bill 50 during the break. The bill decouples Kansas from several provisions in the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, most notably prohibiting the state from taxing certain foreign income made by multinational corporations headquartered in Kansas. The bill also increases the standard deduction for all Kansas income taxpayers and allows itemization on state returns regardless of federal filing status.
The Governor vetoed a similar bill twice in 2019. However, the difference in SB 50 is a requirement for internet marketplace facilitators to collect and remit sales and transient guest taxes when annual sales made in Kansas exceed $100,000. This policy is supported by Governor Kelly– albeit without the $100,000 threshold – and lowers the fiscal note of the bill to roughly $284 million over three years.
The Senate passed the bill with a veto-proof majority of 30-10. The House, however, passed it by a vote of 81-43. The House needs to flip three votes to get to a two-thirds majority to override the veto; and Republican leadership is confident that they can. Governor Kelly also announced last week that she has her own “tax cut” proposal for the Legislature to consider. If she can garner support from the moderate Republicans that voted in favor of SB 50, then that complicates an override attempt even further.
The Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, made up of university economists and state budget officials, met on April 20 to revise the November 2020 State General Fund forecast revenues. They announced that the state is expected to see a $361 million increase over previous estimates for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. This announcement has encouraged supporters of SB 50 that argue the state is in a strong financial position to cut taxes for Kansans.
As expected, Governor Kelly also vetoed Senate Bill 55, which creates the fairness in women's sports act to require that female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female. The bill "sends a devastating message that Kansas is not welcoming to all children and their families,” Kelly said in her veto explanation. Neither chamber passed the bill with a veto-proof majority, so a successful override seems unlikely.
Five additional bills were vetoed during the April break:
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House Bill 2039, requiring students to pass a civics test and financial literacy course in order to graduate from high school, and House Bill 2089 that requires the State Board of Education to establish curriculum guidelines for gun safety education. According to Governor Kelly, both bills are legislative overreach on the Board of Education’s authority to set K-12 curriculum.
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Governor Kelly rejected House Bill 2058, which lowers the age to obtain a concealed carry license to 18 years, saying “the legislation will allow more guns on campuses and drive prospective students away from our schools.”
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House Bill 2183, meant to stop ballot harvesting, would limit the number of advanced ballots delivered on behalf of another voter to 10 ballots in an election. According to the Governor’s veto statement, “the bill is designed to disenfranchise Kansans, making it difficult for them to participate in the democratic process.”
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Last, the Governor vetoed a license plate bill that included the “Don’t Tread on Me” Gadson flag plate, saying it was divisive and racist. House Bill 2166 authorizes several other distinctive license plates, and Kelly said in her veto statement that she would sign a bill without the Gadson flag included.
There’s speculation on which bills the Legislature plans to try and override. However, Senate President Ty Masterson (R-Andover) was quoted saying that “Republicans will respond to the governor’s veto-a-rama with a veto-override-a-rama when we return in May.” This could make for an interesting and potentially much longer veto session.
The Senate Tax and Judiciary Committees will continue their work on Senate Bill 286 when they return next week. This legislation establishes the COVID-19 governmental use claims fund to provide income and property tax credits to certain businesses that were forced to shut down or limit capacity during the pandemic. If passed, this bill could offer relief for many TIAK members impacted by government-imposed shutdowns.
Budget negotiators began meeting on Monday to start work on the omnibus budget bill before the Legislature reconvenes next week. The largest appropriation still to be made is for K-12 education, which failed to pass as a stand-alone bill before the break.
Also on Monday, Governor Kelly signed the main budget bill sent to her before first adjournment but not before making 18 line-item vetoes to the proposal. One item in particular was a provision requiring state agencies and major contractors to use E-Verify, which is a federal website that determines eligibility to work in the U.S. It would only apply to state contracts of at least $50,000. The amendment was added by a member of the Governor's own party, Senator Tom Holland (D-Baldwin City) during the Senate floor debate on the budget. The measure has been tried for several years in Kansas, but lawmakers have generally viewed immigration policy as a federal, not state, issue.
Aside from these issues, other conference committees can continue to meet during the veto session, negotiating differences between House and Senate positions on any remaining bills.
Monday marks the 81st day of the legislative session. This year, Governor Kelly has vetoed the largest number of bills in 17 years.
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Consensus Revenue Estimating Group Update
The Consensus Revenue Estimating (CRE) group met last week to revise the November 6, 2020, State General Fund (SGF) estimates for FY 2021 and FY 2022. Their combine adjustments to last November’s estimates were an increase of $361 million for FY 2021 and FY 2022.
- For FY 2021, the estimate was increased by $319.8 million, or 4.1 percent, above the November estimate. The estimate for total taxes was increased by $304.1 million, while the estimate for other revenues was increased by $15.7 million. The overall revised estimate of $8.028 billion represents a 16.3 percent increase above final FY 2020 receipts.
- The revised estimate for FY 2022 is $7.525 billion, which is $41.2 million, or 0.6 percent, above the previous estimate. The estimate for total taxes was increased by $38.3 million, while the estimate for other revenues was increased by $2.9 million. The revised forecast for FY 2022 represents a 6.3 percent decrease below the newly revised FY 2021 figure.
Impact on Tourism?
The increased estimates have spurred talks of revisiting tax cuts the Governor vetoed in Senate Bill 50, that includes the collection of sales tax on digital platforms. SB 50 includes a fiscal note $284 million in tax reductions over three years.
A veto override attempt is anticipated when the legislature returns. SB 50 passed in the Senate 30-10 with 3 votes to spare for the needed 27 for an override, with the House falling three votes short of a veto-proof majority on a vote of 81 – 43. Five members of the Republican caucus voted against SB 50 on Final Action.
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March Lodging Report
TIAK has an agreement with Smith Travel Research (STR) to provide members with statewide reports on hotel occupancy each month. The following data is provided directly from STR:
Kansas had 63% property participation and 77% hotel room participation in March.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS
National Travel and Tourism Week
May 2-8
Tourism Huddle
May 12
June Dinner and Educational Seminar
June 9-10
TIAK Board Meetings
June 10, August 12, October 18, December 9
TIAK Committee Meetings
June 9, July 8, September 9, November 11
Kansas Tourism Conference
SAVE THE DATE! October 18-20, Liberal
October 2022, Wichita
October 2023, Dodge City
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