Cold Missouri Reception for Brownback’s Border War Truce April 20, 2016

(AP) – Missouri lawmakers appear uninterested in Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to end the business “border war” between the two states.

Brownback last week offered to reduce his state’s efforts to lure jobs away from the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area if Missouri’s lawmakers would in turn weaken a law they approved in 2014 addressing the issue.

The Kansas City Star reported Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1WFSKXT ) that some Missouri legislators say Brownback’s proposal wouldn’t completely stop incentives for businesses to relocate from Missouri to Kansas.

A current Missouri law offers a truce in the business fight if Kansas agrees to the law’s terms by Aug. 28.

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, a Joplin Republican, says he has no desire to change the 2014 law in response to Brownback’s offer.

Border War Cease Fire? June 23, 2015

(AP) – Missouri and Kansas officials are close to an agreement that would end a long-running “border war” that saw both states using economic incentives to persuade businesses to move, a Kansas Cabinet secretary said.

Kansas Secretary of Commerce Pat George said the main hurdle is how to remove incentives that do not create more jobs or investments without hindering efforts to attract companies or to persuade businesses not to move to another region.

“We’ve proceeded cautiously because we didn’t want to fix a problem and create a new problem,” he said. “We’re publicly funded entities and we want to spend the taxpayers’ money wisely. There certainly could be some that are not being spent as wisely as they could be.”

Kansas has a program called Promoting Employment Across Kansas, or PEAK, which allows a company creating jobs to keep 95 percent of the employees’ state income taxes for up to seven years. A state audit found most of the incentives went to counties surrounding Kansas City and that the majority of the jobs came from Missouri. It can be difficult to determine if the company created new jobs for Kansans, or if its Missouri employees are simply commuting across the border, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Tuesday.

James Cries Foul as Dairy Farmer Group Announces Move to Kansas February 10, 2015

There has been another shot taken in the Business Border War between Kansas and Missouri.
The Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is moving from Missouri to Kansas.
The organization says it is taking its 325 employees to a brand new building in the Village West area of KCK.
The move prompted Kansas City, Missouri Mayor Sly James to blame the move on the Border War.
“It’s unfortunate that we have gone through this wasteful and destructive bidding war that doesn’t result in any additional new jobs added to the area,” James said in a news release
““This is not about Kansas or Missouri. This is about staying in Kansas City,” Monica Massey of DFA told the Kansas City Star.
In a release, DFA CEO Rick Smith said, “DFA strives to be the workplace of choice for employees, the new building will feature a modern, flexible work environment designed for employees of today and tomorrow”.
The statement by DFA gave no details on what, if any incentives the state of Kansas offered the company in order to make the move.

‘Border War’ Cease Fire Bill Advances in Missouri February 27, 2014

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri senators have given initial approval to legislation seeking a potential truce in an economic competition with bordering Kansas.

Under legislation endorsed Wednesday, Missouri would stop offering incentives aimed at getting businesses to come from several Kansas counties. The moratorium would take effect if Kansas enacts a similar moratorium through legislation or executive order.

The proposal would apply to Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties in Missouri, and to Wyandotte, Johnson, Douglas and Miami counties in Kansas. The states have waived hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues competing with each other for businesses around Kansas City.

Missouri’s legislation requires another vote before it moves to the state House

Silvey Pitches ‘ Border War’ Cease Fire Deal December 20, 2013

Clay County State Senator Ryan Silvey is proposing a cease-fire in the business ‘ Border War’ between Missouri and Kansas.
Silvey’s measure is similar to one Governor Jay Nixon called for earlier this month.
The bill would prohibit businesses flipping from one side of the state line in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area from getting tax breaks for their move.
The law would effect Missouri counties Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass.
It would also apply to counties in Kansas, Johnson, Wyandotte, Douglas and Miami.
It would only go into effect if the Kansas Legislature enacts a similar plan.
“We have a history over here of the two states basically poaching companies from one side of the state line to the other, costing each state millions of dollars,” Silvey said. “In reality, the jobs haven’t really moved. The families pretty well stay where they are (and) they just take a different path to work, and you spend a bunch of money for a lot of nothing,” Silvey said according to KWMU.
The measure got immediate support from a number of business groups on the Kansas City, Missouri side of the state line.
Silvey said it was ironic his pre-filed bill drew the number of 635. He noted that the number of part of the interstate beltway around Kansas City connecting Missouri and Kansas.