Session of 2025
HOUSE BILL No. 2304
By Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
Requested by Representative K. Williams
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AN ACT concerning economic development; relating to government
transparency; requiring local governments to report certain local
economic development incentive program information to the secretary
of commerce; defining such programs; requiring the secretary of
commerce to post such information on the economic development
incentive program database maintained by the secretary; requiring
certain search result presentation formats, a comprehensive report and a
summary report; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,226 and 74-
50,227 and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,226 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 74-50,226. As used in K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,226 and 74-
50,227, and amendments thereto:
(a) "Administering agency" means the state agency or department
charged with administering a particular economic development incentive
program, as set forth by the program's enacting statute or, where no
department or agency is set forth, the department of revenue.
(b) "Economic development incentive program" means:
(1) Any economic development incentive program administered
wholly or in part by the secretary of commerce;
(2) any tax credit program, except for social and domestic tax credits,
regardless of the administering agency;
(3) property that has been exempted from ad valorem taxation under
the provisions of section 13 of article 11 of the constitution of the state of
Kansas;
(4) property that has been purchased, acquired, constructed,
reconstructed, improved, equipped, furnished, repaired, enlarged or
remodeled with all or any part of the proceeds of revenue bonds issued
under the authority of K.S.A. 12-1740 through 12-1749a, and amendments
thereto, that is exempt from ad valorem taxation under K.S.A. 79-201a
Second, and amendments thereto; and
(5) any economic development fund, including, but not limited to, the
job creation program fund established by K.S.A. 74-50,224, and
amendments thereto, and the economic development initiatives fund,
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established by K.S.A. 79-4804, and amendments thereto; and
(6) local government-based economic development programs or
incentives, including, but not limited to:
(A) Community improvement districts, K.S.A. 12-6a26 et seq., and
amendments thereto;
(B) tax increment financing, K.S.A. 12-1770 et seq., and amendments
thereto;
(C) business improvement districts, K.S.A. 12-1781 et seq., and
amendments thereto;
(D) self-supported municipal improvement districts, K.S.A. 12-1794
et seq., and amendments thereto;
(E) neighborhood revitalization act, K.S.A. 12-17,114 et seq., and
amendments thereto;
(F) downtown redevelopment act, K.S.A. 12-17,121 et seq., and
amendments thereto;
(G) transportation development districts, K.S.A. 12-17,140 et seq.,
and amendments thereto;
(H) public improvement districts, K.S.A. 12-17,152 et seq., and
amendments thereto;
(I) industrial development bonds, K.S.A. 12-3801 et seq., and
amendments thereto; and
(J) any grant, loan, lease, land acquisition, site preparation, utilities,
facilities, streets or roadways, workforce development, workforce training
or any other incentive offered by the local government and accepted by the
recipient that may be quantified as to the value provided to the recipient.
(c) "Enterprise" means a corporation, limited liability company, S
corporation, partnership, registered limited liability partnership,
foundation, association, nonprofit entity, sole proprietorship, business trust
or other entity engaged in business.
(d) "Local government" means:
(1) Any city, county or unified government, or any subdivision
thereof; or
(2) any instrumentality of a city, county or unified government,
established for the purpose of economic development of such city, county
or unified government, that is funded in whole or in part by such local
government.
(e) "Recipient" means the enterprise, identified by the business name
filed with the secretary of state, that is the original applicant for and that
receives proceeds from an economic development incentive program
directly from the administering agency. "Recipient" includes an enterprise
that is no longer solvent due to bankruptcy and a recipient with respect to
an economic development project that has failed. If the "recipient" is an
enterprise created primarily for the purpose of the economic development
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project, "recipient" includes the enterprise or enterprises, partners or
principals that own or, individually or with other enterprises, have a
controlling interest in the "recipient."
(f) "Searchable website or web page" means a website or web page
that allows the public to search and aggregate the information identified
and required to be provided by this section and K.S.A. 74-50,227, and
amendments thereto, including requirements that the website or web page
offer users the ability to efficiently search and display data at least by
economic development incentive program, recipient and location of the
economic development project by county.
(e)(g) "Social and domestic tax credits" means the adoption credit
created pursuant to K.S.A. 79-202a 79-32,202a, and amendments thereto,
the earned income tax credit created pursuant to K.S.A. 79-32,205, and
amendments thereto, the food sales tax credit created pursuant to K.S.A.
79-32,271, and amendments thereto, the child and dependent care tax
credit created pursuant to K.S.A. 79-32,111c, and amendments thereto, and
the homestead property tax refund created pursuant to K.S.A. 79-4501 et
seq., and amendments thereto.
(f)(h) "Tax credit program" means any credit allowed against the tax
imposed by the Kansas income tax act, the premium or privilege fees
imposed pursuant to K.S.A. 40-252, and amendments thereto, or the
privilege tax as measured by net income of financial institutions imposed
pursuant to article 11 of chapter 79 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, and
amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,227 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 74-50,227. (a) The department of commerce shall collect
incentive data from economic development incentive programs that
provide more than $50,000 of annual incentives from administering
agencies or local governments as required by this section. Such data shall
be collected from administering agencies or local governments and be
stored in a database that is available to the public in a digital format. The
database shall contain information from multiple years and must be
searchable, printable and available to access over the internet on the
department of commerce's website on a permanently accessible web page
that may be accessed via a conspicuous link to that web page placed on the
front page of the department's website. Information included in the
database shall be updated by the department of commerce at least on an
annual basis and such update shall be completed prior to the end of the
following fiscal year in which such incentive was earned or distributed.
The database shall be a searchable website or web page that is
comprehensive of all information required by this section for all years as
required by this section and shall permit searches by a user of such
information by economic development incentive program, county and
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recipient. The database shall permit the user, on one web page and by
means of an easily accessible drop-down menu or other similar prompt, to
select to search at least by keyword or phrase within separately identified
categories of economic development incentive program, county and
recipient name. A search result shall include all information required by
this section, and such information applicable to the search result shall be
in one printable or downloadable report. In addition to such a
comprehensive report, the database shall be configured to provide a
summary report in response to a search when requested. The summary
report shall provide the total incentives awarded to the recipient and the
total incentives that have been provided to the recipient. Such information
shall be produced by economic development incentive program, county
and recipient name.
(b) (1) Local governments shall provide the department of commerce
with all available and reasonably obtainable information required by this
section for all active economic development incentive programs of such
local government commenced prior to July 1, 2025, that provide more
than $50,000 in value in annual incentives. On and after July 1, 2025,
requiring the provision of all information required by this section as
necessary from a recipient and providing such information to the
department of commerce by the local government shall be a condition of
commencing or providing any incentive to a recipient pursuant to any
economic development incentive program that will provide more than
$50,000 in value in annual incentives. Information required by this section
for programs commencing after July 1, 2025, shall be provided to the
department of commerce within 30 days of the execution of an economic
development incentive program agreement between the local government
and the recipient. The local government shall provide updates of all
applicable information required by this section to the secretary of
commerce, in the manner and form as required by the secretary, at least
annually and at such additional time or times as may be required by the
secretary.
(2) On an after July 1, 2025, any recipient that will receive more than
$50,000 in value in annual incentives from any economic development
incentive program provided by a local government or any administering
agency shall, as a condition of the award of such incentives, agree to
provide all information required by this section to the secretary, at such
times and in the form and manner as required by the secretary, for
publication on the department's database as provided by this section.
(b)(c) The database required to be created by subsection (a) shall
contain the following information or shall contain a link by which the user
can access such information:
(1) User information for each economic development incentive
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program, including the:
(A) Names and addresses, including county, of recipients receiving
benefits from the program and, for sales tax and revenue bonds issued
under the STAR bond financing act, K.S.A. 12-17,162 et seq., and
amendments thereto, the names of principals and officers for each project
developer;
(B) annual amount of incentives claimed, distributed to or received
by each recipient and any remaining balance of the total amount of
incentives claimed or awarded to the recipient;
(C) qualification criteria for the economic development incentive
program, including, if available, qualification criteria specific to the
recipient. Qualification criteria shall include, but not be limited to, any
requirements regarding the number of jobs created or the amount of initial
or annual capital improvement;
(D) required benchmarks for continued participation in the economic
development incentive program and progress made toward the
benchmarks; and
(E) years for which the recipient has received benefits under the
economic development incentive program;
(2) descriptive information for each economic development program,
which shall include:
(A) A description and history of the program, including its inception
date;
(B) the purpose or goals of the program and the criteria for
qualification;
(C) applications for the program, if any, and relevant resources or
contacts;
(D) the program cost and return on investment, including
assumptions used to calculate the return on investment;
(E) the program compliance rate;
(F) annual reports, if required by statute; and
(G) evaluations of the program, if any; and
(3) annual data, which shall be organized by recipient, county and
program and shall include the:
(A) Total amount of annual incentives from a program claimed or
received by a recipient;
(B) total amount of incentives received by recipients in each county;
and
(C) total amount of incentives distributed by each program.
(c)(d) Data collected pursuant to this section must shall be aggregated
and provided by program, recipient and county.
(d)(e) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, and
notwithstanding any information publication requirements listed in this
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section, no information shall be disclosed by the secretary of commerce
under this section if such disclosure would:
(1) Violate any federal law;
(2) violate the confidentiality provisions of any agreement executed
before July 1, 2019 2025;
(3) in the discretion of the secretary of commerce, be detrimental to
the development of a STAR bond project or jeopardize an economic
development incentive program or project; or
(4) disclose the names or other personally identifying information of
individuals who have made contributions or investments pursuant to the
provisions of an economic development incentive program for the purpose
of receiving a tax credit.
Information that is otherwise publicly available shall not be considered
confidential and shall be subject to publication as provided in this section.
(e)(f) (1) The secretary of commerce shall report in writing to the
standing committee on commerce, labor and economic development of the
house of representatives and the standing committee on commerce of the
senate any information not disclosed by the secretary pursuant to
subsection (d)(3) and the reason why the information was not disclosed.
Commencing on January 31, 2026, such reports shall be made on or
before January 31 of each year for such information not disclosed in the
fiscal year ending the preceding June 30. Any testimony or oral
presentation before the committee or discussion by the committee with
respect to the report shall be considered the discussion of data relating to
financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and
individual proprietorships pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4319(b)
(4), and amendments thereto, for purposes of the Kansas open meetings
act, and shall be closed to the public.
(2) The report of the secretary pursuant to subsection (e)(1) (f)(1)
shall be confidential and shall not be subject to the provisions of the
Kansas open records act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., and amendments thereto,
except that two years after the report is submitted to a legislative
committee, such report shall be a public record open for inspection under
the Kansas open records act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., and amendments
thereto.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,226 and 74-50,227 are hereby
repealed.
Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the statute book.
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