Happy Friday! Another legislative week is in the books and the Chiefs are still playing. Let’s wish them well!

State of the State

On Tuesday Governor Laura Kelly delivered her State of the State address to a joint session of the Kansas Legislature.

Why it matters: The governor’s bully pulpit commands attention and the speech is an opportunity to put her legislative priorities in front of all Kansans.

The big picture: After calling for a tone of civility and articulating successes of the past year, Governor Kelly discussed key ideas she hopes will survive the legislative gauntlet. Among her proposals:

• Creating a back-to-school sales tax holiday

• Cutting taxes on Social Security income

• Fully funding special education

• Workforce and job skills training

• Western Kansas water concerns

• Medicaid expansion

The bottom line: The governor’s message struck familiar themes, but working with the GOP-controlled legislature will require a lot of give-and-take before the closing gavel. Senate President Ty Masterson delivered the rebuttal.

Bill Filings Ramp Up

It’s the time when it is nearly impossible to keep up with bill introductions. Three weeks in, more than 100 bills have been introduced in the Senate and more than 200 in the House. Both numbers will grow considerably.

Why it matters: Legislative deadlines are in place to keep the process moving forward. As deadlines approach, pressure mounts to make sure your favorite bill survives the cutoff or your idea may be dead for the year.

The Chamber’s advocacy team quickly assesses each bill for impact on the business community.

What's next: After assessing each bill, we determine what position we’ll take, if any, and then begin preparing testimony for bills queued up for a hearing.

• Committee chairs wield tremendous power as they alone determine which bills assigned to their committee will have a hearing.

Go deeper: Take a look at bills the Chamber is monitoring and their status.

Looking Ahead

Next week’s activity is building in committees as legislative hearings pick up momentum. Here’s a look at what we’re watching next week.

What’s next:

• SB 47 - Prohibiting cities and counties from regulating consumer merchandise and auxiliary containers.

• SB 54 - Sales tax on utilities

• SB 74 - Disclosure of third-party funding of litigation

• SB 91 - Film industry tax credit

• HB 2106 - Sales tax exemption for products and services used in the telecommunication industry

• HB 2110 - Single-factor apportionment of business income

• HB 2123 - Establishing an “Office of Entrepreneurship” in the Department of Commerce

• HB 2133 - Allowing credit card surcharges on purchases made with debit or credit cards

Economic Development Day

The Kansas Economic Development Alliance (KEDA) will host its annual “day on the hill” next Thursday. The Chamber will be there to talk with lawmakers about the role and impact economic development professionals play across the state.

Why it matters: Building our state’s economy doesn’t happen by accident. Economic development professionals from border to border work proactively with the Department of Commerce to bring new jobs and investment to the state.

By the numbers: The Chamber’s economic development team has a great story to share with lawmakers during our visits next week:

• 2,393 new jobs were created in Overland Park in 2022

• The average wage of these new jobs exceeded $80,000

• $73,928,090 in total investment

Have a great weekend, and GO CHIEFS! 🏈 🏈