Kansas House bill compels disclosure, auditing of state economic incentives

A Kansas House committee approved legislation requiring the state agency responsible for awarding economic development incentives to businesses to document tax breaks on a website available to the public.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s tax incentive programs also would automatically, for the first time, be subject of performance reviews by the Legislature’s auditing division.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee said they were eager for reform because Kansas remained one of the few states cloaking in secrecy details of tax breaks given businesses and avoiding rigorous analysis of the success or failure of incentives.

Rep. Bradley Ralph, a Republican from Dodge City, said the public website would offer a snapshot of the state’s economic development efforts. The audits will be useful to lawmakers studying use of income tax exemptions or tax credits and considering modification or overhaul of the programs, he said.

“This is not perfect, but this gives us a start,” Ralph said. “This gives us all the same spot to start from in terms of how we evaluate these programs.”