With the Kansas Legislative session beginning next week in Topeka, State Representative Steven Howe, District 71 joined in on the KSAL Morning News Extra with a look at a range of issues facing the state.

Howe shared a letter he penned to Speaker Dan Hawkins ahead of the session regarding Star Bonds and says he believes the program should be allowed to sunset on July 1st of the this year.

Howe wrote: The Star Bond is an exclusive program that favors select developers, investors and projects within the district. (Read the full letter below)

Howe also touched on a proposal in the works that would ban cellphones at public schools. If passed the measure would require local school boards to create policies dictating student cellphone use during the school day beginning September 1st.

Howe commented that although smartphones have a tremendous upside for information – they can also be a roadblock to interaction during the school day.

Listen to the full radio interview here.

Dear Speaker Hawkins, Speaker Pro-Tem Carpenter and Majority Leader Croft.
With the 2026 legislative session set to commence on January 12, 2026, I extend this letter to formally request that the Sales Tax and Revenue (STAR) Bonds program be allowed to sunset. Kansas Statutes Annotated (KSA) 12-17,179 states, “.STAR bond projects shall expire on and after July 1, 2026.” Allowing the STAR Bond program to sunset would allow current projects to commence provided they are
finalized before July 1, 2026.

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s 2024 Annual STAR Bond Report details 20 STAR Bond districts in 11 cities across Kansas. This of course does not include the recently announced STAR Bond district for the Kansas City Chiefs or the recent applications to create new districts for dilapidated shopping malls across Kansas. People often complain about the growth of government and government-run programs, but what are we doing to limit it? Is it the role of the government to put its finger on the scales of what would otherwise be accomplished by the free-market system? I think not.

I believe my request is fiscally responsible and aligns with the Republican Party Platform. The Platform declares, “OUR ECONOMY WILL GROW when government is smaller and efficient.” The Star Bond program does not lead to smaller and efficient government, but rather, it increases its size and scope. Platform Section IX titled “Growing the Economy” states the following: “governments must recognize that prosperity can only be achieved when economic resources remain in the hands of the people.” The Star Bond is an exclusive program that favors select developers, investors and projects within the district.

“Increasing the tax burden on its citizens should be a last resort, and any effort to do so beyond the rate of economic growth should be submitted to a vote of the citizenry.” The idea that Star Bonds do not increase taxes is simply disingenuous.

“To promote economic growth, state tax policy must be simple and fair to Kansas businesses.” The Star Bond program is not simple, and it is certainly not fair.“The Legislature should periodically re-examine all sales and income tax exemptions, credits, and deductions to determine whether the goal of the exemption is being achieved. Governments should not compete with private enterprise.” A simpler tax code with fewer carve-outs for special interests could mean lower taxes for all Kansans. I hope that you too will agree that government should be limited, and that slowing the growth of government means that we should be ok with allowing government programs to finally sunset. I appreciate your consideration of this request, and I look forward to working with you during the 2026 legislative session.