SESSION OF 2025
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2304
As Amended by House Committee on
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
Brief*
HB 2304, as amended, would require certain reporting
of local economic development programs, which would be
included in the transparency database hosted by the
Department of Commerce (Department).
Definitions
The bill would define local government for this purpose
as:
●Any city, county, or unified government, or any
subdivision thereof; or
●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.
The bill would amend the definition for “recipient” to
mean the enterprise, identified by the business name filed
with the Secretary of State, that is the original applicant for
and receives proceeds from an economic development
incentive program directly from the administering agency.
“Recipient” would include an enterprise that is no longer
solvent due to bankruptcy and a recipient with respect to an
economic development project that has failed.
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
https://klrd.gov/ If the recipient is an enterprise, created primarily for the
purpose of the economic development 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.
The bill would update the definition of “searchable
website or web page” to mean a website or web page that
allows the public to search and aggregate the information
identified and required, including requirements that the
website or web page offers users the ability to efficiently
search and display data at least by:
●Economic development incentive program;
●Recipient;
●Location of the economic development project by
county; and
●Calculate incentive totals for each category
claimed by year and be searchable by year.
Reporting on Local Government-Based Economic
Development Programs or Incentives
The bill would require data from local government-based
economic development programs or incentives, including but
not limited to:
●Community improvement districts;
●Tax increment financing;
●Business improvement districts;
●Self-supported municipal improvement districts;
●Neighborhood revitalization act;
2- 2304 ●Downtown redevelopment act;
●Transportation development districts;
●Public improvement districts;
●Industrial development bonds, and
●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.
The bill would extend incentive data collection to include
local governments. The bill would require the data to be
available on a database that is a searchable website or web
page and permits searches by a user of such information by
economic development incentive program, county, and
recipient by means of an easily accessible drop-down menu
or other similar prompt, to search at least by keyword or
phrase within separately identified categories of economic
development incentive program, county, and recipient name.
The bill would also require the information applicable to
the search result to be available in one printable or
downloadable report and that report to provide a summary
report with the:
●Total incentives awarded to the recipient;
●Number of years the incentive may be claimed;
●Total unencumbered incentive award that may be
claimed; and
●Total incentives that have been claimed by the
recipient.
3- 2304 The bill would require the summary report to be provided
to the House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic
Development and the Senate Committee on Commerce on or
before January 31 of each year and to disclose the most
recent three years of economic incentives claimed and the
total amount of funds committed by the State or the local
government that are required to be paid as an incentive over
the entire period of the incentive.
The bill would require local governments to provide the
Department with all available and reasonably attainable
information required 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.
The bill would require providing all information required
to be a condition of commencing or providing any incentive to
a recipient receiving any economic development incentive
program of more than $50,000 in value in annual incentives
on or after July 1, 2025.
The local government would be required to provide
updates of all applicable information to the Secretary of
Commerce (Secretary) at least annually in the manner, form,
and and at such time as required by the Secretary.
The bill would also require, on and after July 1, 2025,
any recipient that will receive more than $50,000 in value in
annual incentives from any economic development program
provided by a local government or any administering agency
to agree to provide all information required as a condition of
the award of incentives, as required by the Secretary for
publication on the database.
The bill would require all information to be provided to
the Secretary in a manner as required by the Secretary. The
Secretary would be required to make a form or format
available for local governments to report information in a
4- 2304 simple online format and this form must be available in a
digital form.
Required Dates for Local Government-Based Economic
Development Programs or Incentives
The requirement for information regarding community
improvement districts, tax increment financing, business
improving districts, self-supported municipal improvement
districts, Kansas Neighborhood Revitalization Act, Kansas
Downtown Redevelopment Act, transportation development
districts, and public improvement districts from local
governments to the Secretary would be on or before July 1,
2026.
The requirement for information regarding industrial
development bonds from local governments to the Secretary
would be on or before July 1, 2027.
The requirement for 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 to the Secretary would be on or
before July 1, 2028.
Additional Changes
The bill would remove the requirement for sales tax and
revenue (STAR) bonds to include the county of recipients.
The bill would extend the exemption for information to
be disclosed if it violates the confidentiality provisions of any
agreement executed from July 1, 2019, to July 1, 2025.
The bill would require the Secretary to provide a report
of any information not disclosed on the database
5- 2304 commencing on January 31, 2026, based on the preceding
fiscal year and the reason why the information was not
disclosed.
The bill would allow the Secretary to impose a 1.0
percent administrative fee, not to exceed $1,000, upon each
recipient of an economic development incentive program
administered by the Secretary for the purpose of payment of
costs incurred for administering and maintaining the
database.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Commerce, Labor and Economic Development at the request
of Representative K. Williams.
House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic
Development
In the House Committee hearing, proponent testimony
was provided by Representative K. Williams. The proponent
generally stated the bill would create more accountability,
transparency, and knowledge for local and state elected
leaders.
Written-only neutral testimony was provided by
representatives of the Department of Commerce and the
League of Kansas Municipalities.
No other testimony was provided.
The House Committee amended the bill to:
●Update the definition of “searchable website or web
page” to include incentive totals for each category
claimed by year and be searchable by year;
6- 2304 ●Require the database to be capable of calculating
total incentives by each category by year and be
searchable by year;
●Update requirements for the summary report to:
○Include the number of years the incentive may
be claimed;
○Include the total unencumbered incentive
award that may be claimed;
○Clarify the total incentives that have been
claimed by the recipient per year;
○Disclose the most recent three years of
economic incentives claimed and the total
amount of funds committed by the State or
the local government that are required to be
paid as an incentive over the entire period of
the incentive; and
○Require the report to be provided to the
House Committee on Commerce, Labor and
Economic Development and the Senate
Committee on Commerce on or before
January 31 each year.
●Require the Secretary to make a form or format
available for local governments to report
information in a simple online format and this form
to be available in a digital form;
●Extend the requirement for information regarding
community improvement districts, tax increment
financing, business improving districts, self-
supported municipal improvement districts, Kansas
Neighborhood Revitalization Act, Kansas
Downtown Redevelopment Act, transportation
development districts, and public improvement
districts from local governments to the Secretary
on or before July 1, 2026;
7- 2304 ●Extend the requirement for information regarding
industrial development bonds from local
governments to the Secretary on or before July 1,
2027;
●Extend the requirement for 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 to the Secretary on or before July 1,
2028; and
●Allow the Secretary to impose a 1.0 percent
administrative fee, not to exceed $1,000, upon
each recipient of an economic development
incentive program administered by the Secretary
for the purpose of payment of costs incurred for
administering and maintaining the database.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, as introduced, the Department of
Commerce estimates it would need $389,000 from the State
General Fund and 2.0 FTE positions for website designers
and consultants as well as to upgrade its Salesforce software.
The Kansas Association of Counties and the League of
Kansas Municipalities indicate the counties and cities could
require additional staff to report data required by the bill.
Transparency database; reporting; commerce; incentives; economic development;
local government
8- 2304