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Cierpiot’s ‘border war’ bill passes through House

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A bill removing tax incentives for businesses relocating to Missouri from specific counties in Kansas passed the House Wednesday morning.

State Sen. Mike Cierpiot

SB 182, championed by Republican Sen. Mike Cierpiot, removes certain tax credits for businesses that move from designated counties in Kansas to other “border counties” in Missouri. It is contingent upon similar action taken by the Sunflower State.

The bill would be applicable to Johnson, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas. It passed the House in a 132-13 vote Wednesday.

“It’s a good step,” Cierpiot told The Missouri Times of the bills passage.

Cierpiot previously said the bill was needed because some companies along the Missouri-Kansas border “take advantage” of the economic policies of both states and move across state lines “without bringing the benefit of most companies when they come in here or grow here.”

“We have a lot of economic development policies and incentives trying to get companies to either grow here or move here,” he said.

Of the businesses moving across state lines, Cierpiot said: “So it’s not really generating new jobs per se and what goes with that normally like buying homes and all the economic activity that accompanies that.”

A spokesperson for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly confirmed her administrative is “continuing to monitor the bill.”

As it passed the House, the bill included an amendment from Rep. Sheila Solon authorizing St. Joseph to establish a land bank. Solon said she included the amendment since it’s also a local issue, isn’t controversial, doesn’t impact the underlying bill, and would increase the sense of safety and property values in the town.