Kansas House Bill HB2304

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25
• Refer: 2/5/25
• Report Pass: 2/18/25
• Engrossed: 2/25/25
• Refer: 2/26/25
• Report Pass: 3/17/25
• Enrolled: 3/27/25
• Passed: 4/10/25

Caption

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 and requiring certain search result presentation and report formats.

Summary

HB2304 expands Kansas transparency requirements for economic development incentives by requiring the Department of Commerce to collect, organize, and publish detailed information about both state and local incentive programs. The bill broadens the definition of “economic development incentive program” to include a wide range of state-administered incentives, tax credits, tax-exempt property tied to development financing, economic development funds, and local government programs such as TIF, community improvement districts, business improvement districts, neighborhood revitalization, downtown redevelopment, transportation development districts, public improvement districts, industrial revenue bonds, and other quantifiable local incentives. The bill requires the department to maintain a public, searchable, printable online database with multi-year data, searchable by program, recipient, county, and year, and to provide both comprehensive reports and summary reports. It also requires annual updates, legislative reporting on withheld information, and allows the secretary to charge a limited administrative fee to certain recipients to help cover database costs. For local programs, the bill phases in reporting obligations for active programs begun before July 1, 2025, and makes reporting a condition of receiving incentives for new programs after that date.

Impact

HB2304 amends K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 74-50,226 and 74-50,227 and repeals the existing versions, significantly expanding the scope of incentive data that must be reported to and published by the Department of Commerce. It imposes new duties on local governments and recipients of incentives valued at more than $50,000 annually, requires digital submission of program data, and sets deadlines for retroactive reporting of existing local programs. The bill also affects confidentiality rules by preserving certain protections for preexisting agreements, federal-law restrictions, and sensitive project information, while making otherwise public information subject to disclosure.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have generally favorable support overall, as reflected by passage in both chambers and final concurrence, though not unanimously. The House passed the bill 97-26, the Senate passed it 28-12, and the House later concurred with Senate amendments 88-37. That voting pattern suggests broad bipartisan interest in transparency and accountability for economic development incentives, but with a meaningful minority concerned about the bill’s scope or administrative burden.

Contention

The main points of contention likely centered on the breadth of the reporting mandate, especially the inclusion of local government incentive tools and the requirement that recipients and local governments provide detailed data for publication. Potential concerns include administrative burden on local governments, the cost and complexity of building and maintaining the database, and the treatment of confidential or sensitive project information, particularly for STAR bond projects and agreements executed before July 1, 2025. Opponents may also have objected to the bill’s reach into local economic development programs and the possibility that disclosure could discourage participation in incentive programs, while supporters likely emphasized public accountability, comparability of incentives, and easier oversight of public subsidies.