New plan emerges to stop the use of STAR bonds for the American Royal

A new plan emerged Monday to stop the use of sales tax revenue bonds for an American Royal project in Wyandotte County, even though Gov. Sam Brownback on Friday vetoed legislation aimed to do just that.

In a Senate Ways and Means Committee meeting, Sen. Jim Denning, an Overland Park Republican, offered a STAR bonds amendment to a bill authorizing the sale of the Kansas Bioscience Authority property and assets. The sale is expected to bring a much-needed $25 million to the state.

The budget is newly out of balance after February tax receipts came in more than $50 million short of estimates.

The measure vetoed by Brownback last week would have halted the use of STAR bonds for a project to move the American Royal livestock and horse exhibition from Kansas City to western Wyandotte County.

Lawmakers don’t want the $42 million in STAR bonds revenue that’s no longer needed for the Village West development to be shifted to an American Royal project. They say the state budget needs that revenue, which will start flowing to state coffers in January.

The strategy: Attach the amendment to the Kansas Bioscience Authority bill to ward off another Brownback veto.

“This would stop the $42 million from being tampered with in January 2017 and going forward,” said Denning about his amendment.

But several committee members said they needed more information, and the amendment failed. Ways and Means Committee chairman Ty Masterson set aside the bill, so the committee can take up the whole matter later.

The Legislature would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override Brownback’s veto.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "New plan emerges to stop the use of STAR bonds for the American Royal."