Committee hears bill to restore state food-sales tax revenue for pre-2023 Star Bond districts

House Bill 22 11 would direct the Kansas Department of Revenue to calculate and replace the portion of food sales tax revenue that Star Bond project districts—those established before Dec. 31, 2022—would have generated if the state rate had remained 6.5 percent. The Department of Revenue estimated the bill would require a state general fund transfer of about $15.9 million in fiscal 2026 and roughly $8.2 million in each of fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028.

The bill’s sponsor and the reviser told the Committee on Taxation the measure creates a Star Bonds food sales tax revenue replacement fund and modifies the Star Bonds statute’s tax‑increment definition to include food and food-ingredient sales for qualifying districts established prior to Dec. 31, 2022. The reviser summarized the change as a grandfathering provision: pre‑2023 districts would receive a differential payment reflecting the revenue that would have been collected at a 6.5 percent rate going back through 2024 and forward until the bond expirations.

The nut…