SB 197 Kansas Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Substitute for Substitute for SB 197 by Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development - Setting visitor origin requirements for STAR bond projects and providing for enforcement of such requirements, expanding transparency of such projects, authorizing the Kansas development finance authority to issue bonds for such projects, making certain other changes and extending the expiration date of the STAR bonds financing act.

SB 197 allows cities and counties in Kansas to create STAR bond projects specifically for redeveloping mall facilities, with approval from the Secretary of Commerce. It requires businesses in these districts to submit visitor data quarterly (instead of annually) and mandates public transparency by making project details available online. The bill prohibits using general state funds to repay bonds for these projects and bans eminent domain for mall redevelopment. It also extends the STAR bonds financing act deadline to July 1, 2028, and clarifies eligibility for projects like "major business facilities" requiring visitor tracking data.

Bill status died 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2025

House Passage

Mar 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 5, 2025 Last action Apr 10, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Amended by House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development → {As Amended by House Committee of the Whole} · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill text was reformatted to reflect a new amendment stage by the House Committee of the Whole. The substantive policy content, including the rules for STAR bond projects and mall redevelopment criteria, remains unchanged.

Scope change

The bill's scope and applicability are unchanged; only the amendment header and page numbering were updated.

TECHNICAL

The header was changed from 'As Amended by House Committee' to '{As Amended by House Committee of the Whole}' to indicate the bill has passed a new legislative stage.

Page footers were updated to reflect the new amendment stage (e.g., 'Am. by HCW' instead of 'Am. by HC').

As Introduced → {As Amended by Senate Committee of the Whole} · 8 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly amended to expand its scope from a simple expiration date extension to include new provisions for mall redevelopment projects, specific rules for vertical construction in smaller cities, and stricter financial and reporting requirements. The expiration date was adjusted to July 1, 2028, and the act now explicitly prohibits using state funds to back these bonds and bans the use of eminent domain for these projects.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a narrow focus on extending the expiration of the STAR bonds act to a comprehensive update covering mall-specific redevelopment, vertical construction approvals, data reporting, and financial restrictions.

TIMELINE

The expiration date for the STAR bonds financing act was changed from July 1, 2030 to July 1, 2028.

ELIGIBILITY

New provisions were added to specifically authorize the redevelopment of mall facilities as eligible STAR bond projects.

Cities or counties are now prohibited from using eminent domain to acquire real property for a STAR bond project.

REQUIREMENT

Businesses located in STAR bond project districts are now required to provide visitor data to the secretary of commerce on a quarterly basis instead of annually.

The secretary of commerce is now required to make certain information regarding STAR bond projects publicly available on the department's website.

FISCAL

A new restriction was added prohibiting state general fund moneys from being pledged for the repayment of any special obligation bond issued for a STAR bond project.

SCOPE

The secretary of commerce is authorized to approve vertical construction within STAR bond project districts in cities with a population under 60,000, provided approval is granted before December 31, 2025.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'Auto race track facility' was modified to explicitly exclude hotels, motels, restaurants, and retail facilities that are not directly related to the operation of the track.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Report was adopted; Yea 75, Nay 48, Absent 2

lower

Mar 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference committee report now available

lower

Mar 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Conference Committee Report agree to disagree adopted; Sen. Larry Alley, Sen. Stephen Owens and Sen. Oletha Faust Goudeau appointed as second conferees

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference Committee Report agree to disagree adopted; Rep. Sean Tarwater, Rep. Jill Ward and Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton appointed as second conferees

lower

Mar 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Conference committee report now available

lower

Mar 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to accede adopted; Rep. Sean Tarwater, Rep. Jill Ward and Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton appointed as conferees

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

Nonconcurred with amendments; Conference Committee requested; appointed Sen. Larry Alley, Sen. Stephen Owens and Sen. Oletha Faust Goudeau

upper

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Emergency Final Action - Substitute passed as amended; Yea 82, Nay 38, Absent 5

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to advance to Emergency Final Action adopted

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Substitute bill be passed as amended

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to reconsider previous amendment prevailed.

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Amendment by Rep. Sean Tarwater was adopted

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Rep. Sean Tarwater

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Rep. Brian Bergkamp

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Rep. Steven K. Howe

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report recommending bill be passed as amended by House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development

lower

Mar 21, 2025

Committee

Withdrawn from Calendar, Rereferred to House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Passed over and retain a place on the calendar

lower

Mar 19, 2025

Lower · Passed

Committee Report recommending substitute bill be passed by House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Committee

Referred to House Committee on Commerce, Labor and Economic Development

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Introduced

Received and Introduced

lower

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Emergency Final Action - Substitute passed as amended; Yea 32, Nay 8

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Substitute bill be passed as amended

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Sen. Doug Shane

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Amendment by Sen. Jeff Klemp was adopted

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Motion to Amend - Offered by Sen. Jeff Klemp

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee of the Whole - Committee Report be adopted recommending substitute bill be passed

upper

Feb 18, 2025

Upper · Passed

Committee Report recommending substitute bill be passed by Senate Committee on Commerce

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Committee

Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce

upper

Feb 5, 2025

Introduced

upper

0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

What changed between versions

How they voted

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