SESSION OF 2024
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT BRIEF
SENATE BILL NO. 467
As Agreed to April 5, 2024
Brief*
SB 467 would expand and make changes to membership on the Council on Travel and
Tourism (Council), make changes to the Department of Commerce’s matching grant program for
the promotion of tourism, create and provide transfers to the STAR Bonds Food Sales Tax
Revenue Replacement Fund, expand the STAR Bond program to include historic theaters,
increase the maximum finance limit for rural redevelopment projects, allow for legislative
approval of a port authority by enactment of a bill, and authorize the establishment of a port
authority by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
The bill would take effect upon publication in the Kansas Register.
Food Sales Tax Replacement Revenue
The bill would create the STAR Bonds Food Sales Tax Revenue Replacement Fund (Fund)
and provide for transfers to the Fund from the State General Fund (SGF) beginning on May 1,
2024.
The transfers would be determined by the Director of Taxation certifying, for each STAR
Bond project district established prior to December 31, 2022, the amount of sales tax that would
have been generated on the sales of food and food ingredients if the tax rate on such sales had
been 6.5 percent. The certification would occur for each month, commencing on January 2024,
and would be required to be made on or before 60 days following the end of each month. The
Secretary of Revenue would be required to send a copy of each certification to the Director of
the Kansas Legislative Research Department.
The State Treasurer would be directed to pay the amount attributable to each STAR
Bond project district to the appropriate finance, debt service, or reserve fund associated with the
district.
Transfers and payments to each district would cease upon the satisfaction of all principal
and interest attributable to bonds issued prior to December 31, 2022.
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*Conference committee report briefs are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express
legislative intent. No summary is prepared when the report is an agreement to disagree. Conference committee
report briefs may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.kslegislature.org/klrd
1 - 467 For STAR Bond project districts established after December 31, 2022, the base year
revenue for the district would be defined to not include revenue resulting from state sales and
use tax on the sale of food and food ingredients.
Historic Theaters
The bill would expand the permissible uses for STAR Bonds to include historic theaters.
Permissible project costs for historic theaters would include costs connected to construction or
renovation of historic theaters, along with any personal property for the historic theater, as
established in statute.
Rural Redevelopment Project Cost Financing Increase
The bill would increase the maximum amount of financing for rural redevelopment projects
under the STAR Bond Program without the issuance of special revenue bonds from $10.0
million per project to $25.0 million per project.
Council on Travel and Tourism
The bill would expand membership on the Council and add representatives from the
following organizations:
●The National Independent Venue Association;
●The Kansas Museums Association; and
●The Kansas Sampler Foundation.
The bill would require the representative of the National Independent Venue Association to
be a Kansas resident.
The bill would also change the Council membership from the House of Representatives to
the chairperson, vice-chairperson, and ranking minority member of the House Committee on
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development. [Note: Currently, the Council includes the
chairperson, vice-chairperson, and ranking minority member of the House Committee on
Agriculture.]
Matching Grant Program for the Promotion of Tourism
The bill would reduce the minimum amount of state tourism promotion matching grant
moneys required to be dispersed to public or nonprofit entities from 75.0 percent to 50.0
percent.
The bill would also remove the restriction against more than 20.0 percent of the amount of
moneys granted to for-profit or public nonprofit entities being awarded to one entity.
2 - 467 Port Authority
The bill would allow for the Legislature to approve the creation of a port authority by the
enactment of a bill. [Note: Currently port authorities can only receive legislative approval by the
passage of a concurrent resolution.]
The bill would authorize the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City,
Kansas, to establish a port authority pursuant to law.
Conference Committee Action
The Conference Committee agreed to the provisions of SB 467 as passed by the Senate.
The Conference Committee also agreed to insert the following contents regarding STAR
Bonds (HB 2387, as amended by the House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic
Development) and port authorities:
●Food Sales Tax Revenue Replacement Fund and required transfers;
●Use of Star Bonds for construction and renovation of historic theaters and personal
property belonging to historic theaters;
●Increase to the maximum finance limit for rural redevelopment projects;
●Allow for legislative approval of port authorities by enactment of a bill;
●Approve the creation of a port authority by the Unified Government of Wyandotte
County and Kansas City, Kansas; and
●Technical and conforming amendments.
Background
The Conference Committee report includes the contents of SB 467 and HB 2387.
Background information for each bill follows, as well as the background on SCR 1620, regarding
port authorities. [Note: SCR 1620 would have authorized the creation of a port authority by the
Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.]
SB 467
The bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on Commerce at the request of the
Department of Commerce.
Senate Committee on Commerce
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony was provided by representatives
of the Department of Commerce and the Travel Industry Association of Kansas. The proponents
3 - 467 generally stated the additional members would allow for better feedback and would represent
the change of the Office of Tourism being moved under the Department of Commerce. The
proponents also stated the grant funding change would better align with the applications the
Department is receiving.
No additional testimony was provided.
House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
The House Committee did not hold a hearing on SB 467 because the contents of the bill
are substantially similar to those of HB 2611, which the House Committee recommended for
passage during the 2024 Legislative Session.
The House Committee amended SB 467 to go into effect upon publication in the Kansas
Register. [Note: The Conference Committee retained this provision.]
HB 2387
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic
Development at the request of a representative of the Department of Commerce.
House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony was provided by representatives of
the Department of Commerce, City of Derby, Hutfles & Associates Public Relations, and League
of Kansas Municipalities. The proponents generally stated the bill would ensure STAR
bondholders are held harmless from food sales tax rate reductions, expand the allowable uses
of STAR Bonds to make the program applicable to more projects, and make the annual report of
the program more useful by allowing it to contain full calendar year information for the preceding
year.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a representative of the City of Wichita.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by a representative of Americans for
Prosperity–Kansas.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to make technical changes to the replacement of
revenue associated with food sales tax rate reductions, modify the use of STAR Bond proceeds
on amusement parks, and increase the amount of financing that may be utilized without the
issuance of special obligation bonds. [Note: The Conference Committee retained some, but not
all, of these provisions.]
SCR 1620
The concurrent resolution was introduced by Senator Haley.
4 - 467 Senate Committee on Commerce
In the Senate Committee hearing, proponent testimony was provided by Senator Haley,
who stated Wyandotte County previously had a port authority, and the creation of a port
authority would be helpful because of an increasing number of projects in development and in
progress along the Kansas River and Missouri River.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a representative of the Unified
Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.
No other testimony was provided.
The Senate Committee recommended the resolution be placed on the Consent Calendar.
Fiscal Information
SB 467
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget on the bill, as
introduced, the Department of Commerce states the bill would require an additional $600 for
mileage reimbursements for the three new members. The Department says these costs would
be covered by existing resources.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is not reflected in The FY 2025
Governor’s Budget Report.
HB 2387
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of the Budget on the bill, as
introduced in 2023, the Department of Revenue indicates enactment of the bill would increase
the transfer amount from the SGF to the STAR Bonds Food Sales Tax Revenue Replacement
Fund by $1.4 million in FY 2024 and would provide for transfers of $11.6 million in FY 2025 and
$15.4 million in FY 2026. The fiscal effect associated with the bill is partially reflected in The FY
2024 Governor’s Budget Report, which includes transfers to the fund in a greater amount
attributable to the proposed acceleration of food sales tax rate reductions.
State government; council on travel and tourism; membership; tourism development and promotion matching grant program;
department of commerce; star bonds; food sales tax revenue replacement; historic theaters; port authority; Wyandotte County;
Kansas City, Kansas
ccrb_sb467_01_452024.odt
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