Legislative Platform

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce works with its member businesses, the City of Olathe and the Olathe School District in pursuit of a common vision for the Olathe community. The Chamber and its partners support a full service community with a diversified tax base, full employment and exceptional quality of life. The Chamber and its partners believe that this vision is best achieved by effectively funding targeted economic development activities, efficient municipal services and infrastructure and quality schools. Although the Chamber sets legislative priorities on an annual basis, prior to each session of the Legislature, it relies on this vision as a basis both for its own activities and advocacy of governmental action.

Each year the Chamber of Commerce prepares a platform of its priority issues for consideration by legislators representing the Olathe community. We are pleased to have substantial member input in establishing priorities for 2003. Subcommittees on education, transportation, taxation, telecommunication, health care and government efficiency have reported to the Government Affairs Committee which has met three times to reach a consensus recommendation for the Board of Directors. The proposed legislative platform was reviewed by the Executive Committee and proposed to the Board of Directors for its approval. We believe that the resulting platform is the platform of the Chamber’s members acting through their elected Board of Directors.

The Government Affairs Committee has also reviewed the legislative positions of the City of Olathe, the Olathe School District and the Johnson County Chambers Presidents Council and has in each case recommended that the Board of Directors endorse those positions.

1. Support continued investment in quality education

The Chamber believes that a high quality public education system is a vital building block for economic development. The Legislature must provide adequate school funding. The Chamber believes that the Legislature must give serious attention to its own suitability study and use it as a guide to significantly improve school funding. In addition, the Chamber recognizes the recommendations of the School Finance Coalition; Governor’s Task Force and the State Board of Education as a basis for funding discussion.

In addition, the Chamber supports:

• Greater ability to raise funds locally including a sales tax and lifting the lid on the Local Option Budget if the Legislature does not adequately address school funding.

• Ability for school districts to utilize Home Rule.

• Funds for career and technical (vocational) education at the secondary and post secondary level to promote workforce development.
• A cost of living adjustment for school districts when adequate levels of funding are reached.

The Chamber opposes vouchers and tuition tax credits at the K-12 level.

The Chamber supports implementation of the 1999 Comprehensive Transportation Plan. It also seeks a review of funding for current projects so that excess allocations can be used for Olathe projects. Furthermore, the Chamber supports legislation to honor the commitments it made by protecting the funding for the 1999 Comprehensive Transportation Plan and prevent further erosion of revenue transfers.

• Located on the I-35 corridor and positioned as one of the state’s fastest growing cities, Olathe has earmarked two projects as critical to address its growth: a new interchange at 159th St./I-35 and an overpass at 127th St./I-35. These two projects are essential to alleviate congestion on and around the I-35 corridor and accommodate growth not only in Olathe, but also throughout the metropolitan area and the region. The Chamber further supports allocation of any available federal, state, and county funding for these projects.

3. The Chamber continues to recognize economic development as a top priority and strongly urges aggressive economic development funding including:

• Continued dedication of lottery revenues to the Economic Development Initiatives Fund (EDIF) for the purpose of supporting measurable statewide economic development projects and programs.

• The Olathe Chamber of Commerce supports the implementation of the Kansas Certified Capital Formation Company Act of 2002 (HB2505).

• To compete successfully with Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, and Oklahoma for tourism, it is important for the State of Kansas to increase its funding of advertising that attracts visitors to Kansas. The Chamber supports legislation that improves such funding while maintaining a careful balance in other areas of the budget.

• The Chamber recognizes that growing our state’s economy is paramount, and it is vitally important to make all economic development tools available to areas of the state where these tools could generate growth in tax revenue. If the Legislature expands the STAR Bond authority, the Chamber encourages the Legislature to make the STAR Bond authority available throughout the state to stimulate the economy whether that authority be identified by geographic location(s), size of project, location in an enterprise zone or otherwise.

1. Revenue Collection

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce recognizes the dependence of local government on sales tax collected by the Kansas Department of Revenue. To minimize the loss of tax dollars, the Chamber supports legislation to improve the collection and distribution of sales taxes, including provisions that would increase the availability of information about tax collections to local units of government, and, where appropriate, would allow the participation of local government in the collection process.

The Chamber recognizes the importance of accessible and affordable health care for Kansas’s employers and residents and supports such initiatives that result in an enhanced health care delivery system. Such initiatives shall include but not limited to:

• Repeal of the Collateral Source Rule.

• Careful scrutiny of any additional legislated mandates that would expand benefits or limits a health plan's choice of providers.

• Encourage legislators to examine the regulatory climate and promote policies that attract and maintain insurance companies’ presence.

• Encourage creative alternatives to the traditional health care delivery system that will result in greater accessibility and affordability to Kansas’s employers and residents, further reducing the number of uninsured.

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce opposes any attempt to repeal existing business services sales tax exemptions. Furthermore, the Olathe Chamber of Commerce supports full compliance with regard to existing business sales taxes.

While recognizing the seriousness of the state budget crisis, the Chamber encourages the State of Kansas to examine all internal fiscal policies and encourages dramatic cost efficiencies wherever possible:

• Whenever it can save Kansas taxpayer money, the state should lease rather than purchase real estate. The Chamber further encourages state agencies to develop accurate inventories of all their real estate holdings. Further incent governmental state agencies that sell real estate holdings, not needed for future development or expansion, with a 25-50% commission of the proceeds.

• Consider positive incentives for the consolidations of local units of government through interlocal agreements in sparsely populated counties of shared administrations and services including educational institutions, community colleges, counties and cities.

• Enable state agencies to carry over unspent funds from year to year.

• Eliminate unfilled state FTE’s. Encourage the state to promote the electronic deposit of state employee paychecks where appropriate and consider reducing pay periods from every two weeks to once a month.

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce believes that the following practices in the Department of Revenue (DOR) negatively impact collections and payments of various state taxes:

• The Chamber supports legislation that mimics the Federal government policies--when self-reporting errors or omissions, taxpayer is subject to interest fees but not penalties.

• The Chamber urges compliance with compensating use tax including but not limited to possible amnesty to encourage payments.

• The Chamber encourages the Department of Revenue to improve their system for determining whether or not corporations have filed a tax return.

• The Chamber supports continued monitoring of the Department of Revenue 's ability to correctly remit sales tax revenue to local governments.

Acknowledging the possibility of bi-state II tax campaign initiated by Jackson County, Missouri, the Chamber will monitor the development of a proposal for an additional ¼ cent sales tax and will consider a more specific position when details are known.

1. Support import/export assistance

To encourage Kansas companies to establish and increase export sales, the Chamber recommends consideration of changes and additions to state export assistance and incentive programs including but not limited to the following:

• Expansions of trade show assistance to include other types of marketing programs.
• Training and counseling on exporting to various markets.
• Income tax credits based on increases in export sales.
• Continued support of the Department of Commerce and Housing in hosting trade missions and shows.
• Direct and indirect financing support of export receivables through lender guarantees.
• ISO 9000 training and certification support to help meet requirements of many foreign customers.
• Dollar amounts of incentive programs are generally related to income taxes generated.

1. Oppose concealed weapons

The Chamber opposes any initiatives to authorize the carrying of concealed weapons in Kansas.

2. Support reduction of personal property taxes on business machinery and equipment

Because it significantly hinders economic development, discourages needed investments in new technology, and limits competitiveness, the Chamber supports a phased reduction in personal property taxes on business machinery and equipment, achieved through rate reductions, tax credits or by increasing the tax "floor" and balanced against needs of local governments to maintain stable tax structures.

3. Oppose unfunded/underfunded State mandates

The Chamber opposes legislation that hampers local units of government in their response to taxpayers’ needs. Unfunded/underfunded mandates place unjustified financial burdens on local jurisdictions.

4. Support economic development initiatives

The Chamber supports the initiatives that provide a better climate for business and industry and enhance economic development efforts in Kansas.

5. Oppose restrictions on tax abatements

Although the Chamber agrees that tax abatements should be used with discretion, this important economic development tool should remain an option for Kansas cities. The Chamber opposed legislation that would place unreasonable restrictions on the use of tax abatements.

6. Support tax increment financing

The Chamber supports legislation that would continue to improve the state’s tax increment financing law, especially legislation that simplifies and streamlines the use of this important economic development.

7. Oppose spending lids for state and local government

The Chamber urges a thorough review of the state budget and strongly urges fiscal restraint. The Chamber opposes a constitutional spending lid amendment for state and local governments. A spending cap would deter infrastructure improvements and impede government’s ability to respond appropriately to growth and economic development.

8. Oppose repeal of state sales tax on food

The Chamber opposes repealing the state sales tax on food because of the negative fiscal impact it would have on local government. Repealing this tax narrows the tax base and could result in tax increases in other areas.

9. Support formulation of statewide energy policy

The Chamber encourages the careful formulation of a comprehensive statewide energy policy to address issues related to retail wheeling, natural gas, and wind energy and the impact on tax revenues.

10. Support existing Worker’s Compensation Legislation

The Chamber opposes changes in the current legislation because overall the current system works well and changes to the system could have a significant detrimental affect on Kansas businesses.

11. Support funding for the historic Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm

The Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm—the last existing stagecoach stop on the Santa Fe Trail open to the public—is a significant historical attraction for northeast Kansas. The Chamber supports legislation to provide funding to preserve and enhance the Mahaffie site as both an important regional tourist attraction and a site of great historic value.

 

12. Sales Tax Situs for Automobiles

The Chamber supports the current legislation of collection of sales tax on automobiles at the point of sale.

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce works with its member businesses, the City of Olathe and the Olathe School District in pursuit of a common vision for the Olathe community. The Chamber and its partners support a full service community with a diversified tax base, full employment and exceptional quality of life. The Chamber and its partners believe that this vision is best achieved by effectively funding targeted economic development activities, efficient municipal services and infrastructure and quality schools. Although the Chamber sets legislative priorities on an annual basis, prior to each session of the Legislature, it relies on this vision as a basis both for its own activities and advocacy of governmental action.

The Chamber supports the efforts of the following entities and generally concurs with their legislative platforms.

Top Priority Legislative Objectives

1. Review of KHIA risk pool and proposed action to establish business/health care partnerships in support of long term stability.
2. Legislation providing for medical savings accounts (sometimes referred to as medical IRAs) and continued exploration of health care cost containment methods such as the current Medicaid managed care pilot programs and health care purchasing cooperatives for small employers.
3. Repeal of the Collateral Source Rule to allow presentation of evidence of a plaintiff’s existing medical coverage in a court case involving injury.
4. Careful scrutiny of any legislation, which would expand, mandated benefits or limit a health plan’s ability to be selective in choice of providers.
5. Review proposed activity of Business Health Partnership to encourage the use of the private insurance industry versus the creation of additional government bureaucracy in offering health insurance alternatives to small business employers.

STANDING POSITIONS