Views
Opinion column
by Murrel Bland
The Kansas Legislature is in high gear these days as more than 600 bills have been introduced this session. The Legislative Committee learned the details of several bills Friday morning Feb. 11 as it met via Zoom. The committee is part of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Kansas Chamber of Commerce has proposed one of the more controversial bills, which would provide tax relief to Kansas businesses and also provide relief to Kansans paying higher state taxes because of federal tax changes. Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a similar bill two years ago. Critics, including Democrats and moderate Republicans, have said this reminds them of the disastrous tax cuts of the Gov. Sam Brownback era. The present issue has passed the Kansas Senate earlier this year.
There are two bills that focus on sports betting. One is backed by casino interests; the other is broader and would allow convenience stores to benefit.
Mike Taylor, a lobbyist for the Unified Government, said the chairman of the committee handling STAR bonds legislation, State Sen. Rob Olson from Olathe, favors the use of STAR bonds for economic development. Legislators have criticized STAR bonds because they have been abused. However, the proper use of the bonds has been demonstrated with such developments as Legends Outlets.
Taylor said any legislation that might restrict the use of STAR bonds would not affect those being used for the Homefield development; those bonds were grandfathered. Homefield is being
developed on property where Schlitterbahn was. With STAR bonds, developers use sale tax revenue to pay for infrastructure.
There was discussion about the cyberattack on the Kansas Department of Labor. Hackers broke into the computerized records of thousands of Kansans, acquiring their Social Security numbers and have filed false claims. Estimates are that more than $70 million has left the state. Many people with legitimate unemployment claims have been shut out.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is executive director of Business West.
