Testimony in Opposition to Senate Bill 58

From John Todd.

Members
House Taxation Committee
State Capitol
Topeka, Kansas 66612

Subject:
Testimony in OPPOSITION TO SENATE BILL #58 (Sales Tax Increase For The Proposed Downtown Wichita Arena).

My name is John Todd. I am a self-employed real estate broker from Wichita, and I come before you in opposition to the enabling legislation that would allow Sedgwick County to raise the local sales tax 1% to fund a new Downtown Arena in violation of current state law.

Under current state law, Counties in Kansas are not authorized to raise county sales taxes for projects like the proposed Downtown Wichita Arena without first obtaining the required legislative approval prior to any vote of the public. A public vote advertised as non-binding was held in Sedgwick County on November 2, 2004 without the legislative approval as required by law, and now Sedgwick County officials are asking you to approve this illegal vote retroactively to the November General Election.

Before you consider the favorable passage of Senate Bill #58 into law that would make an illegal vote legal, ex post facto, after the fact, and retroactively, you really ought to consider what was the original legislative intent of the current state law in the first place, and whether it is good precedence to allow counties to decide which laws to obey and which to ignore. Does anyone suppose that the intent of the current law was a desire on the part of prior legislators to exercise some modest control over a counties ability to “approve” massive sales tax hikes on it’s citizens, particularly for non-essential entertainment venues like arenas? Do you, as legislators not have a fiduciary responsibility to your constituents and the people of Kansas by demanding that local governmental units follow the rule of law in the same manner as you expect citizens to follow the law? If the current statute is flawed, perhaps you should be working to correct those flaws before you allow Sedgwick County to break the law?

The solution to this problem is for you to reject Senate Bill #58 or at a bare minimum, I would suggest that you amend the Bill by approving the 1% sales tax subject to new vote of the people, as current state law requires. Local governmental units should not be allowed to selectively ignore the state law(s) they chooses not to follow by essentially placing themselves above the law. This sets bad legislative precedence, and you should not allow it to happen.

Sincerely,

John R. Todd