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Originally Posted by Stewie
Read the thread or any other source. The Kansas legislature is going to address this in the next special session. That will probably happen in the next couple of weeks. It sounds like they are very positive about getting something done about the Chiefs and/or Royals.
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That would be good if they do the special session in a couple weeks. Guess we'll see how it shakes out. Some of the comments in this article don't sound that positive about getting this finalized, but maybe it's just the loud minority? There is at least one activist group putting pressure on Republicans to go against this plan.
https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id...-royals-border
Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, a small-government, low-tax group that has long opposed the use of such bonds, opposed the stadium financing proposal. The group is influential with Republicans and told lawmakers it would consider their votes in evaluating their records.
Critics have long argued that allowing the bonds to finance big projects represents the state picking economic winners and losers instead of the free market. The same kind of bonds have financed multiple projects, including NASCAR's Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
One northeastern Kansas lawmaker, Democratic Sen. Tom Holland, called the stadium proposal "economic development for millionaires." He added that it's "total foolishness" to have taxpayers subsidize the stadiums -- either through taxes they pay when they visit or because the state forgoes revenues that would flow into its coffers.
Another northeastern Kansas lawmaker, conservative GOP Sen. Dennis Pyle, said: "We've got a lot of priorities in Kansas, and I'm not sure that's one of them."
Other lawmakers were critical because the Legislature had no public hearings or debates before three senators and three House members met in public this week to hash out the details of the proposal.
"As much as I would love to see the Chiefs and the Royals both come to Kansas, this is a very large expenditure of tax money that merits careful consideration, not a last-minute scheme," said Democratic state Rep. John Carmichael, of Wichita.