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Geary County finance director warns commissioners about House Bill 2152's potential impact on local investment income
Summary
Tammy Robinson told the Geary County commissioners that House Bill 2152 would replace the U.S. Treasury yield standard with a state K-NIP rate for measuring yields, which the Kansas GFOA opposes; commissioners were urged to contact legislators.
Tammy Robinson, Geary County finance director and past president of the Kansas Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) board, told commissioners that House Bill 2152 would change the benchmark used to measure investment yields from the U.S. Treasury rate to a Kansas-specific K‑NIP rate and that the Kansas GFOA and others had raised concerns about the proposal.
Robinson said the bill could reduce the interest local governments earn because the K‑NIP rate is historically lower than the U.S. Treasury rate and is driven only by state-level factors. “They’re wanting to switch that for K‑NIP rate be our base rate. That creates a lot of issues because the K‑NIP rate is historically significantly lower than the TBAL rate,” Robinson said, using terminology from her briefing.
Robinson said the change could eliminate market competition for local government investments and raise potential conflicts of interest on the PMIB (Public Money Investment Board), which she said includes bankers whose interests could differ from local governments. She said members of the Kansas GFOA wrote a letter opposing the bill and that she herself submitted a letter “as a citizen, not as the Geary County financial” because the county had not met to discuss the matter.
Robinson urged commissioners to monitor the bill and, if they wished, contact committee members directly before the noon Friday deadline for submitting comments. She explained the difference between the nationwide U.S. Treasury benchmark and the Kansas-specific rate, saying the Treasury rate “is nationwide standard and is derived by… the broader financial markets, and K‑NIP is only relative to the state of Kansas.”
Commissioners discussed the possible local effects, including on escrow for bond proceeds and on existing county investments. One commissioner asked whether t‑bills would be affected; Robinson said t‑bills remain federal securities but that the change in benchmark could lower yields offered for local investments and reduce competition among investment providers.
Robinson noted that some statewide organizations appeared to support the bill and urged commissioners to contact legislators on the relevant committee; she said there had been an immediate deadline to submit information and that the Kansas GFOA had prepared materials quickly. The meeting transcript records commissioners agreeing the issue could have a statewide effect on local government revenues and thanking Robinson for bringing the matter to their attention.
