Missouri’s peace offering to Kansas is halfway through the legislature–a proposal that sponsors hope ends the economic development border war between the two states.
Kansas City Senator Ryan Silvey’s bill sets up an eight-county “no poaching” zone–four counties in Missouri and four in Kansas. He says studies show the competition has not generated the jobs the states have hoped for, making the continued competition not worth the expense.
The bill gives Kansas two years to pass similar legislation or for the Governor to issue an executive order.
Silvey says he has been talking to some Kansas legislators but, “They still need to be educated on the issue a little more.”
Independence Senator Paul LeVota, a supporter of the truce, has told Silvey the proposal is an offer Kansas cannot afford to refuse. “They have decimated their revenues so they’re not going to have any more money for incentives. They should be at your door thanking you for this because they aren’t going to be able to compete anymore,” he says. LeVotas says Kansas would be “foolish” not to take a similar step.