Latest news with #LegislativeCoordinatingCouncil
Forbes
02-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Kansas Is Making Its Latest Push For The Chiefs' Next Stadium
A general overall aerial view of Arrowhead Stadium on Dec. 25, 2023 in Kansas City, Mo. (Photo by ... More) This month could be a pivotal one in determining whether the Kansas City Chiefs will move across state lines for the next decade. The Chiefs' current home — GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium — resides on the Missouri side of the border, but Kansas has been making a huge push over the last year to land the Chiefs and/or the Kansas City Royals. 'I'm actually cautiously optimistic,' Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate, exclusively shared. On June 21, 2024, Kansas governor Laura Kelly signed into law an expansive plan to issue STAR (sales tax and revenue) bonds to help fund the new stadiums. It had been reported that June 30, 2025 was the deadline for that deal, but Masterson noted that, though the original statute did have that expiration date, there was a provision in that law to be able to extend it up to a year. To discuss that extension, the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) did not have to necessarily meet before June 30, and the next available time when legislators were free was July 7. That July 7 LCC meeting will feature leaders from both chambers, including the president, vice president, majority leader and minority leader of the state Senate. On the House of Representatives side, it will have the speaker of the house, speaker pro tempore, majority leader and minority leader. 'It's bipartisan,' Masterson said. Masterson was the recipient of the request from Chiefs president Mark Donovan who asked for the extension because of delays in responses from the Kansas governor's office. 'We would like to thank the Kansas legislature and the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) for our constructive conversation,' the Chiefs said in a statement. 'We continue to make significant progress toward a mutually beneficial agreement. However, these projects are complex and require due diligence on both sides. The LCC confirming to meet soon about an extension enables us to continue finalizing large pieces of the puzzle that would be required for this project in the state of Kansas.' Kansas has a couple of advantages over Missouri. The Sunflower State has a unique funding system, and under its proposal, state lawmakers would issue bonds for up to 70% of the estimated cost of the stadium project. That is a greater percentage than the Missouri plan, which enables covering 50% of the costs and was passed last month. And if the Chiefs start their stadium from scratch in Kansas — rather than just renovating their current one in Missouri — they could build a dome, which potentially gives them the opportunity to host lucrative national championships and Super Bowls. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, however, has said that the favorite place in the world for his father, Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, was Arrowhead Stadium. 'There is some sentimental value to Arrowhead in Missouri,' Masterson said. 'All things equal: I would expect them to stay in Missouri, but all things aren't equal.' Having the Chiefs stay in a renovated GEHA Field while the neighboring Royals, who share a parking lot, moved downtown was the initial plan for both teams, whose current stadium leases go through the end of the 2030 season. But by a measure of 58% to 42% in April of 2024, Jackson County, Mo. residents voted against the 3/8 cent sales tax to help fund the Royals' move to the East Crossroads district and the Chiefs' renovations at their existing stadium. Frank White, the Jackson County executive and eight-time Gold Glove winner for the Royals, was one of the biggest detractors of that proposal. 'It's just not an equitable situation,' White exclusively shared. 'I can't just rubber stamp this deal because I played sports. I was elected to be a good steward to the taxpayer dollars, and that's my goal.' The failure of that measure in Missouri opened the door for the state of Kansas to potentially swoop in and snare one or both of Kansas City's major professional sports teams. 'We appreciate the effort that the Kansas legislature made to really supercharge STAR bonds to make it make sense for a professional sports team to come over there and take advantage of that,' Donovan said. 'We don't take that for granted.'
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kansas prepares to extend deadline for Chiefs, Royals to claim incentive for stadium construction
The Kansas City Chiefs asked leadership of the Kansas Legislature to extend a June 30 deadline for acceptance of bonds that would finance up to 70% of construction a new professional sports stadium in Kansas. Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican, said the Legislative Coordinating Council will take up the request in July (). TOPEKA, Kansas — The president of the Kansas senate said Thursday a meeting with bipartisan legislative leadership would be called July 7 to extend the deadline for the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals to accept an offer of financial support for construction of professional sports stadiums in Kansas. Senate President Ty Masterson said the Republican-dominated Legislative Coordinating Council, which conducts state business when the Legislature isn't in session, would consider an extension of the one-year STAR bond deadline enacted in July 2024. Masterson didn't indicate how lengthy the extension could be. Masterson said Mark Donovan, president of the Chiefs, asked Kansas officials to alter the deadline 'in light of substantial progress the Chiefs have made in discussions' with the Kansas Department of Commerce on an NFL development on the Kansas side of the border with Missouri. Those discussions have included building of a stadium, headquarters, practice facility and related business developments, Donovan said. 'The letter from Mark Donovan indicates that the drive to bring this historic project to Kansas is moving down the field,' Masterson said. 'Now that we are in the red zone, this extension will provide stakeholders sufficient time to ensure the ball crosses the goal line.' Missouri or Kansas? Business leaders don't care as long as Chiefs and Royals stay near KC Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill last year authorizing issuance of bonds that would cover up to 70% of stadium construction, but the law set the deadline for making a deal at June 30, 2025. Last month, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed legislation that would finance up to 50% of the cost to renovate or build new stadiums for the Royals and Chiefs. Missouri's commitment of tax revenue would be capped at $1.5 billion. The NFL and MLB franchises play at facilities in Kansas City, Missouri, that were built in the early 1970s. Owners of the teams have encouraged formation of public funding packages that would support replacement of those stadiums. Debate about the future of both franchises has rekindled the economic border war between Missouri and Kansas. The Legislative Coordinating Council would take up the measure altering the deadline at 2 p.m. July 7 in Topeka. 'The complexity and scale of the project, and the importance of crafting a structure that works for all stakeholders, make it clear that more time is needed to bring the effort to full fruition,' Donovan said in a letter to Masterson. He said the Chiefs had engaged in multiple rounds of dialogue about stadium proposals with the state Department of Commerce. The Chiefs hadn't received a response to the franchise's latest proposal in six weeks, he said. 'Extending the secretary's authority will allow that process to continue productively and will preserve Kansas' ability to secure the most significant economic development initiative in its history,' Donovan's letter said. This story originally appeared in the Kansas Reflector, a States Newsroom affiliate.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas legislators, archbishop take action against satanists and their planned black mass
Michael Stewart, pictured here on March 14, 2025, is the president of the Satanic Grotto and the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Kansas City, Kansas, archbishop. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — A planned satanic black mass at the Kansas capitol has spurred policy changes, allegations of theft and religious debates as state leaders scramble to address First Amendment concerns with blocking satanists from their demonstration. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly censured the black mass in a statement March 12 and said participants weren't allowed to demonstrate inside the capitol building. Catholic organizations circulated petitions and urged legislators to step in. Rumors swirled among Statehouse circles that the Satanic Grotto's president had stolen materials used in the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist — an accusation bolstered by an archbishop's lawsuit against the group's leader. But the satanist group hasn't budged. Legislative leaders went a step further Tuesday and modified the Capitol's building and grounds policies to change assembly rights for anyone who wants to demonstrate at the Statehouse — not just the Satanic Grotto. The policy changes add three contingencies to the public's use of common areas in the Statehouse and capitol grounds: Organizations and individuals will not be permitted to 'meet or gather when participation is limited or restricted on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, handicap, cultural heritage or national origin or ancestry.' People cannot gather if an individual has made a threat verified by state law enforcement 'against the governor, a member of the Legislature or other public official.' People cannot gather if a group or member of a group 'has stated explicitly that the meeting or gathering will involve a violation of law.' The Legislative Coordinating Council, which consists of Republican and Democratic leadership, passed the changes unanimously at a meeting Tuesday following a letter from Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. The legislative leaders called on the governor to use the Kansas Highway Patrol to prevent the black mass from occurring as scheduled on March 28. 'The Governor's Office is reviewing actions from the Legislative Coordinating Council,' said Grace Hoge, a spokesperson for the governor. Senate President Ty Masterson acknowledged in a statement that the First Amendment protects assembly and speech, including offensive speech. 'However, the First Amendment does not protect criminal conduct,' he said. 'Recent statements from an organization — which pledged to engage in such conduct — necessitated a thoughtful review of policies to ensure the safety of all those visiting our State Capitol.' Masterson was referring to alleged criminal conduct in a civil lawsuit against Michael Stewart, the president of the Satanic Grotto. Masterson also said lawmakers sent to the director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation writings from Satanic Grotto members threatening legislators. It is unclear how current those writings were. In a 44-page complaint filed Friday in Leavenworth County District Court, Kansas City, Kansas, Archbishop Joseph Naumann alleged that members of the Satanic Grotto, including Stewart and the Grotto's vice president, stole consecrated hosts to use during the black mass. The allegation was based on phone conversations and posts on Reddit linked to Stewart's username, 'xsimon666x.' In an interview Tuesday, Stewart denied the allegations and added that no one asked what consecration means to him. 'I find it very entertaining that he is convinced that I have Jesus trapped in a cracker and he would take it to court,' Stewart said. He said his religion contains its own consecration rituals and that the Catholic Church has made 'a lot of assumptions' about his religion. The satanic ritual of a black mass intentionally upends and mocks the ritual of a Catholic mass, often including a consecrated host. The Satanic Grotto is a nonprofit organization and is not affiliated with the recognized religion, the Satanic Temple. Naumann, who plans at the same time as the planned black mass to preside over a holy hour and Catholic mass at the Assumption Church across the street from the Statehouse, said in the lawsuit the performance of a black mass directly harms the Catholic Church and Catholics across Kansas and the country. 'It is the conviction of the Catholic Church presented in its doctrinal teachings that the Consecrated Hosts and Wine are in fact the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, present under the form of bread and wine,' the lawsuit read. Catholic teachings outline specific rituals for the handling of sacramental objects. The suit alleges Stewart and his vice president aren't qualified to handle such objects. Naumann provided no evidence to show that archdiocesan property had been stolen. Stewart said he 'would think this whole thing was hilarious' if it weren't for the Legislature changing state policy to address a single event. 'I think it's because they're afraid,' Stewart said. Naumann demanded the lawsuit be resolved through a civil jury trial. An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Thursday. No criminal charges had been filed against Stewart or other members of the Satanic Grotto as of Tuesday afternoon, according to court records. The Satanic Grotto has changed its plans in response to Kelly's decree and intends to demonstrate outside, as she prescribed, with the expectation that Catholic groups will be there to counter-protest. Stewart initially promised to enter the building, defying the governor in 'a peaceful act of civil disobedience.' Even with the policy changes, the lawsuit, which Stewart expects will be thrown out, and a statement from legislators condemning the event, Stewart is resolute. 'I will go to the capitol on March 28,' he said. The House Federal and State Affairs Committee held an impromptu hearing Tuesday on House Resolution 6016, which denounces the planned event as 'a despicable, blasphemous and offensive sacrilege to not only Catholics but all people of goodwill.' The hearing, which only included testimony from the resolution's supporters, also provoked discussions over legislators' religious beliefs and whether lawmakers were considering First Amendment protections. Rep. Dan Osman, an Overland Park Democrat, attributed the proponent-only testimony to the fact that the committee met outside of its scheduled time and parties were given less than 24 hours of notice to participate. He wanted to discuss the resolution at a later date, but a majority of committee members voted to advance it. Osman called the resolution 'shortsighted' because no one knows what will happen on March 28. Other legislators questioned why they were spending time and resources to give the Satanic Grotto attention. Some supported the resolution as a way to stand up to the planned black mass and what some saw as anti-Catholic bigotry. Others voted against it to avoid treating one religion differently than others. The resolution is not law and has no legal teeth.
