Latest news with #Mike Kehoe
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Jackson County Executive Frank White pitches Gov. Kehoe adjusted approach to sales tax extension
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jackson County Executive Frank White Jr. wrote a letter to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe last week, proposing that the county renew its 3/8-cent sales tax. The sales tax was originally approved by voters in 2006 to fund improvements to Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. If renewed, the sales tax would focus on the following three priorities: Modernizing and improving Arrowhead Stadium Restoring and upgrading public safety infrastructure Investing in public health Kansas City man arrested, charged after high-speed boat chase at Lake of the Ozarks 'With the passage of Senate Bill 3, Missouri now has a powerful tool to play a significant role in attracting and retaining professional sports teams—most notably the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals,' White wrote in the letter. Not only would the sales tax go toward modernizing and improving Arrowhead Stadium, White said it would also help the county invest in public health, as well as restore and upgrade the county's public safety infrastructure. Funds from the sales tax would also go toward modernizing the county's juvenile detention facility, according to White. 'The impact of these improvements will be felt well beyond county lines,' White wrote. In the letter, White also addressed the controversy surrounding the Royals' potential relocation: 'I also want to be clear about the Royals: I fully support keeping them in Jackson County. Since the April 2024 vote, the City of Kansas City has taken the lead on identifying a new site and working with the team, and I've respected their desire to do so. At the same time, I've made it clear to the Royals that Jackson County is ready to support the city's efforts and is willing to step back in should the team present a proposal for us to consider or express interest in reengaging. To date, the Royals have not done so.' Kauffman Stadium, which currently benefits from the 3/8-cent sales tax, would not be included as a beneficiary of the renewed sales tax, according to White's letter. White released the following statement Monday afternoon: 'First, it's important to remember that these teams are for-profit, multi-billion dollar businesses. They're always going to look for the best deal for themselves and I can't blame them for that. But my job isn't to work for the teams; my job is to get the best deal for the people of Jackson County. 'Out of respect for the City of Kansas City's publicly stated desire to take the lead in conversations with the Royals, much of our engagement has focused on the Chiefs. At the same time, we remain open to discussions with all parties to ensure Jackson County's interests are fully represented. 'Last and most importantly, Jackson County taxpayers have long carried the overwhelming share of public funding for these teams, historically providing more than 90% of the investment, which currently amounts to over $50 million every year. As we look ahead, our priority is to ensure any new agreement is fair, transparent and reflects the significant commitment our residents continue to make.' The Jackson County executive said he believes this proposal could generate between $500 million and $700 million. He said it offers a clear path to retain the Chiefs, protect taxpayers and deliver long-term public benefit. White also proposed that the sales tax be presented to voters as one ballot question instead of three. He said this would clarify that the renewed tax may be used for more than one related purpose. White also asked the governor to confirm with the director of the Department of Economic Development and the commissioner of the Office of Administration that the sales tax meets the requirements stipulated in Senate Bill 3. The 3/8-cent sales tax is currently set to expire in 2031, which is when the Chiefs' and Royals' leases end. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Frank White prepared to back Chiefs stadium tax — but under these conditions
Frank White sent Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe a letter signaling his preparedness to support a sales tax earmarked for a renovated Arrowhead Stadium. But it comes with significant caveats. White, the Jackson County executive, wrote to Kehoe last week that he would back a 3/8th-cent sales tax extension in the county — but with only one-third of it reserved for an Arrowhead Stadium makeover. In a letter obtained by The Star through an open records request, White lays out a plan to reserve one-third of the tax to upgrade the downtown Jackson County courthouse and the juvenile rehabilitation facility; one-third for capital improvements at University Health, county-owned hospitals in Kansas City; and one-third for upgrades and maintenance for Arrowhead stadium. 'This approach represents exactly the kind of balanced, responsible investment the moment calls for,' White wrote in the letter. A Kehoe spokesperson did not indicate whether the Republican governor supported White's plan in an email to The Star, but she emphasized that local support was necessary for the teams. 'Governor Kehoe appreciates the willingness of Jackson County Executive Frank White to explore options for local investment to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri,' said spokesperson Gabby Picard, who also pointed to issues with Jackson County tax assessments, adding Kehoe 'also believes Jackson County residents deserve certainty for fair and reasonable property tax assessments, which is a critical piece to any Jackson County solution.' The Chiefs declined comment on the letter. But a three-way split is likely a non-starter in any negotiations with the Chiefs, who possess something today they didn't two years ago when their talks with White commenced: Options. The Chiefs are not only pursuing a renovated stadium at the Truman Sports Complex, but they continue to explore the possibility of building a new stadium across the state line. Both Missouri and Kansas have passed competing stadium-incentives packages, and the Chiefs recently successfully persuaded Kansas to extend the deadline for its funding package. The Missouri bill passed last month not only encourages but requires a local source of funding — which is the significance of the letter. While it's long been known the stadium tax measures White does not support, his writing to Kehoe offers the first behind-the-curtain peek of the brand of ballot measure he would promote. 'Governor, I'm aware that some have tried to suggest that I'm opposed to any level of public funding for these teams. That's just not true,' White wrote. 'What I am opposed to is continuing the status quo for another generation.' White's office confirmed the letter but declined further comment. White is facing a recall election, possibly as soon as next month. The Royals are not a party to his proposal to Kehoe. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and his office has been a more active party in the talks with the Royals on proposed sites in Jackson County, most recently Washington Square Park, which is located north of Crown Center and east of Union Station. White says the county is 'ready to support the city's efforts and is willing to step back in should the team present a proposal for us to consider or express interest in reengaging. To date, the Royals have not done so.' If the Royals elects to pursue their original vision of downtown baseball — over options in Kansas or Clay County — that stadium is unlikely to be county-owned. At least one top Missouri lawmaker has suggested that the Royals moving to Clay County would take off 'half the pressure on Jackson County.' Chiefs team president Mark Donovan has consistently said that if the NFL team stays at Arrowhead Stadium, its local funding source would come through the county — which owns the stadiums at the Truman Sports Complex, where the teams are tied through a lease that expires in 2031. For two years, though, White and the Chiefs (and Royals, for that matter) have failed to reach an agreement on what taxpayer support beyond 2031 would entail. White vetoed a combined Chiefs and Royals measure to put a sales tax extension on the ballot before the county legislature overrode him and put the item in front of voters. They rejected it, 58-42%. The Chiefs are unlikely to return to the voters with anything other than a tax reserved for one thing and one thing only. They are adamant about dislodging any confusion from a future ballot question. A three-way chop would also, quite obviously, secure the team less money. For White, that's the idea. For the Chiefs, that would almost certainly be a sticking point, even after they have secured a path toward a significant contribution from the state. The Chiefs and Royals have long split the 3/8th-cent sales tax evenly, but they have separated their stadium plans moving forward — and any future ask of the voters would therefore be separate, too. That's purposeful in the aftermath of last year's rejection at the ballot box. In response to a question from The Star, Donovan said last week the Chiefs would likely target an April 2026 vote if they stay in the county. They estimate a renovated Arrowhead Stadium would cost north of $1 billion. But it's not yet clear what kind of tax they will seek absent sharing it with the Royals. White's request is that other county parties get a cut — 'generational investments in public health and public safety,' he called the proposed tax support for the courthouse, juvenile facility and hospitals. White and the Chiefs reengaged in talks after last year's vote failed, but they have not discussed the matter recently. Instead, Donovan said last week he talked to the county legislature, a signal of the team's potential plans to once again try to gather enough support from the nine-member committee to put the item on the ballot, rather than an avenue through White. In his letter to Kehoe, White sought an amendment to the Missouri sales tax statue to allow for the three-way split for the 3/8th-cent sales tax extension. The state's General Assembly would have to pass that amendment before a vote. The Star's Kacen Bayless contributed to this report.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Missouri's governor signs repeal of state's guaranteed paid sick leave law
Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri's governor, Mike Kehoe, signed the repeal of a law on Thursday that had guaranteed paid sick leave to workers and inflation-linked adjustments to the minimum wage. The move marked a major victory for the state's largest business group and a frustrating defeat for workers' rights advocates, who had spent years – and millions of dollars – building support for the successful ballot measure. The repeal will take effect on 28 August. Kehoe, who also signed a package of tax breaks on Thursday, described the paid sick leave law as an onerous mandate that imposed burdensome record-keeping. 'Today, we are protecting the people who make Missouri work – families, job creators and small business owners – by cutting taxes, rolling back overreach and eliminating costly mandates,' Kehoe, a Republican, said in a statement released after a private bill-signing ceremony. The new tax law excludes capital gains from individual state income taxes, expands tax breaks for seniors and disabled residents, and exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales taxes. Richard von Glahn, who sponsored the worker benefit ballot initiative, said many parents felt forced to go to work instead of staying home to care for a sick child in order to pay for their rent or utilities. 'The governor signing this bill is an absolute betrayal to those families, and it hurts my heart,' said Von Glahn, policy director for Missouri Jobs With Justice. About one-third of states mandate paid sick leave, but many businesses voluntarily provide it. Nationwide, 79% of private-sector employees received paid sick leave last year, though part-time workers were significantly less likely to receive the benefit than full-time employees, according to US labor department data. Voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska all approved paid sick leave measures last November. Only Alaska's, which kicked in on 1 July, has remained unchanged by state lawmakers. Before Nebraska's measure could take effect on 1 October, the state's Republican governor, Jim Pillen, signed a measure last month exempting businesses with 10 or fewer employees from the paid sick leave requirements. The revision also allows businesses to withhold paid sick leave from seasonal agricultural workers and 14- and 15-year-olds. Missouri's law allowed employees to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, starting 1 May. By the time it's repealed, 17 weeks will have elapsed. That means someone working 40 hours a week could have earned 22 hours of paid sick leave. If workers don't use their paid sick leave before 28 August, there is no legal guarantee they can do so afterward. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry had made repealing the law its top legislative priority. The 'paid leave and minimum wage policies were a job killer', the chamber's president and chief executive officer, Kara Corches, said. But Missouri voters could get a second chance at mandating paid sick leave. Von Glahn has submitted a proposed ballot initiative to the secretary of state that would reinstate the repealed provisions. Because the new measure is a constitutional amendment, the state legislature would be unable to revise or repeal it without another vote of the people. Supporters have not decided whether to launch a petition drive to try to qualify the measure for the 2026 ballot.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Missourians voted for paid sick leave. Gov. Mike Kehoe just signed bill undoing it
Gov. Mike Kehoe on Thursday signed a bill into law repealing Missouri workers' paid sick leave protections that voters overwhelmingly supported in November. The rollback of Proposition A, which nearly 58% of voters favored, is the latest example of Missouri officials relitigating and undermining seemingly progressive policies enacted at the ballot box. The right to an abortion, also enshrined by voters in 2024, will be back on the ballot next year in the form of a proposed ban. In a statement accompanying the signing of the sick leave overhaul and a separate tax cuts bill, Kehoe couched the new law as 'pro-business legislation.' 'Today, we are protecting the people who make Missouri work — families, job creators, and small business owners — by cutting taxes, rolling back overreach, and eliminating costly mandates,' Kehoe said. The sick leave protections requiring employers with 15 or more workers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked will officially be repealed on Aug. 28. Proposition A's other key provision, a $15 minimum wage, will remain in place. But the bill signed by Kehoe repeals future minimum wage increases based on inflation. 'The governor's action today demonstrates the absolute disdain Republicans have for working Missourians,' said House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat, in a Thursday statement. She suggested the move to dismantle worker protections could prompt a move to shield future ballot measures from legislative interference. 'But in stripping workers of their legal right to earned sick leave, the governor and his allies have probably guaranteed this issue will be back on the ballot next year as a constitutional amendment that will place worker protections beyond their reach,' Aune said. Since Proposition A changed state law but not the state constitution, lawmakers had the authority to rewrite it. To get HB 567 across the finish line, Republican senators resorted to extraordinary procedural measures, breaking a Democratic filibuster to force a vote on the bill in the final hectic days of the legislative session. Despite the Missouri Supreme Court upholding Proposition A election results, the business community pressured lawmakers to forestall its implementation. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry suggested that rewriting the sick leave provisions would give employers flexibility to 'tailor workplace policies' to meet the needs of their workforce. Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber, celebrated the rewritten measure in a news release Thursday, calling mandatory paid sick leave a 'job killer.' 'Missouri employers value their employees and recognize the importance of offering competitive wages and benefits, but one-size-fits-all mandates threaten growth,' Corches said. As approved by voters, the earned sick leave provision did not apply to government employees, retail or service workers whose employers make less than $500,000 a year, people who are incarcerated, golf caddies, and babysitters, among others.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Missouri's governor signs repeal of state's guaranteed paid sick leave law
Eight months after voters approved it, Missouri's governor, Mike Kehoe, signed the repeal of a law on Thursday that had guaranteed paid sick leave to workers and inflationary adjustments to the minimum wage. The move marked a major victory for the state's largest business group and a frustrating defeat for workers' rights advocates, who had spent years – and millions of dollars – building support for the successful ballot measure. The repeal will take effect on 28 August. Kehoe, who also signed a package of tax breaks on Thursday, described the paid sick leave law as an onerous mandate that imposed burdensome record-keeping. 'Today, we are protecting the people who make Missouri work – families, job creators and small business owners – by cutting taxes, rolling back overreach and eliminating costly mandates,' Kehoe, a Republican, said in a statement released after a private bill-signing ceremony. The new tax law excludes capital gains from individual state income taxes, expands tax breaks for seniors and disabled residents, and exempts diapers and feminine hygiene products from sales taxes. Richard von Glahn, who sponsored the worker benefit ballot initiative, said many parents felt forced to go to work instead of staying home to care for a sick child in order to pay for their rent or utilities. 'The governor signing this bill is an absolute betrayal to those families, and it hurts my heart,' said von Glahn, policy director for Missouri Jobs With Justice. About one-third of states mandate paid sick leave, but many businesses voluntarily provide it. Nationwide, 79% of private-sector employees received paid sick leave last year, though part-time workers were significantly less likely to receive the benefit than full-time employees, according to US labor department data. Voters in Alaska, Missouri and Nebraska all approved paid sick leave measures last November. Only Alaska's, which kicked in on 1 July, has remained unchanged by state lawmakers. Before Nebraska's measure could take effect on 1 October, the state's Republican governor, Jim Pillen, signed a measure last month exempting businesses with 10 or fewer employees from the paid sick leave requirements. The revision also allows businesses to withhold paid sick leave from seasonal agricultural workers and 14- and 15-year-olds. Missouri's law allowed employees to earn one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, starting 1 May. By the time it's repealed, 17 weeks will have elapsed. That means someone working 40 hours a week could have earned 22 hours of paid sick leave. If workers don't use their paid sick leave before 28 August, there's no legal guarantee they can do so afterward. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry had made repealing the law its top legislative priority. The 'paid leave and minimum wage policies were a job killer', the chamber's president and chief executive officer, Kara Corches, said. But Missouri voters could get a second chance at mandating paid sick leave. Von Glahn has submitted a proposed ballot initiative to the secretary of state that would reinstate the repealed provisions. Because the new measure is a constitutional amendment, the state legislature would be unable to revise or repeal it without another vote of the people. Supporters haven't decided whether to launch a petition drive to try to qualify the measure for the 2026 ballot.
