Kansas lawmakers have started their special session.
With an agreement in principle already stated for the main goal, tax relief, lawmakers could well shift gears into a major recruitment effort. Lawmakers spent several hours Monday in a special hearing to discuss potential plans to use Sales Tax and Revenue or STAR Bonds as a way to bring either the Kansas City Chiefs or Royals — or both — across the state line from Missouri to Kansas, and that discussion could well continue Tuesday.
STAR Bonds help to fund major commercial, entertainment and/or tourism ventures, using sales tax revenues created by the specific development. These bonds normally cover half a project’s costs, but lawmakers are considering a plan that would fund up to 75 percent of this effort and offer a 30-year payback instead of the normal 20 years. The Chiefs-Royals package would use sales tax on alcohol sales in a stadium district, as well as state revenues from sports gambling and lottery gaming, to pay off the bonds.
STAR Bonds have already been used in the Kansas City metro area for Kansas Speedway, most notably used for NASCAR events, and Children’s Mercy Park, the current home of Sporting KC.
Lawmakers were called into special session several weeks ago after failing to reach an agreement with Governor Laura Kelly on a tax relief structure. A tentative agreement was hammered out last week on a plan that includes a two-bracket tax code, rate reductions, statewide property tax reductions, larger exemptions helping lower-income residents and a repeal of the state tax on Social Security.
