Can Kansas lure the Kansas City Chiefs to leave Missouri? Lawmakers may give it a try.

Kansas lawmakers are attempting to help make a pitch for the Kansas City Chiefs to leave Missouri and relocate across state lines.

Legislators met Monday afternoon on the penultimate day of the legislative session to discuss proposed changes to an economic development program.

The "temporary and targeted changes" would be to sales tax and revenue bonds, said Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, as he wore a Chiefs lapel pin.

"We called this meeting because of recent events in the Kansas City region where there was a vote to extend sales tax for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Kansas City Royals, which failed pretty miserably," Tarwater said. "We kind of had an idea that was going to happen, so we've been working on some sort of a solution for them for some time now without their involvement.

"We just want to make sure that we have the right plan for when the time is right for us to start those negotiations."

The government subsidy bill would first have to be approved by a conference committee. Then, the House and Senate would vote on it before it could go to Gov. Laura Kelly.

STAR bond districts would try to lure NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL teams

The plan would be done through a gut-and-go of House Bill 2663. It would authorize STAR bond districts to build a new stadium and practice facilities with a minimum investment of $1 billion. Up to two professional sports teams from the NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL could use the program.

Local cities and counties wouldn't have to offer their own incentives, but they could in what Tarwater likened to a bidding process among local governments in Kansas.

"We want to make sure that since Jackson County dropped the ball here that we're in a position to do a scoop and score," Tarwater said.

Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected a sales tax for the Chiefs and Royals. The Kansas plan wouldn't necessarily require any public votes.

"It's important to note that no Kansans will be asked to pay any more taxes than they currently are," Tarwater said. "There won't be a vote for sales tax because of this bill. This bill can happen in either way. We are using tomorrow's money to pay, and it's tomorrow's money that we otherwise wouldn't receive because these structures will bring it in the business and they will cause development around them."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Lawmakers hope tax incentives can lure KC Chiefs to move to Kansas