This story is part of an ongoing series, Powering Change: Panasonic and De Soto. If you'd like to share your excitement or concerns about the electric vehicle battery plant, you can do so here.
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Government officials have high hopes Panasonic's EV battery facility will be groundbreaking — from the local community in De Soto to the state level.
KSHB 41 sat down with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to discuss how the deal came to be.
The state’s investment was made possible by legislation called APEX.
For months, taxpayers didn’t know what it was for.
"I know there was a lot of discussion about the secrecy, but that’s just the way that it works," Kelly said. "You have to sign these NDAs in order to be able to have open and honest conversations, wheel and deal, and negotiate. That's why I am particularly appreciative of the legislature that year that had to go on faith."
However, the official deal relies on more than just faith.
APEX has expired, but the legislation helped land Panasonic. Unlike failed mega deals like Foxconn in Wisconsin, Kelly said the state had many safeguards for the tax incentives.
"The one thing Kansas, I think, has always had, at least in the history that I know with 20 years in the state senate and then here, we have clawbacks," Kelly said. "If a company doesn’t produce, we will claw the money back if it had been given out. I think we’ve gotten smarter with something as big as the APEX bill. We decided we didn’t want to put that much money at risk. We would instead hold it until they produced and then release it.”
When the multi-billion-dollar tax incentive package was mentioned, Kelly said she believed it was worth it.
"Well, I do know we have invested a lot, but in economic development, that's what it takes. It takes money to make money, but I drive a very hard bargain," Kelly said. "I made sure we would get a really good return on our investment. We are already seeing that. That will just continue to grow as Panasonic builds out and supply companies come in.”
Watch Alyssa Jackson's full interview with Gov. Kelly in the video player below:
KSHB 41 asked the governor how the state would ensure Panasonic is fulfilling its obligations to receive the incentives.
She said the company reports back on its progress monthly.
“We very carefully crafted our contract and negotiations with Panasonic so that unlike some other very large projects [elsewhere] where the money was up fronted ... we don’t do that. Panasonic has got to produce before any of that money goes out," Kelly said.
In the incentive agreement, Panasonic is expected to create 4,000 new full-time jobs at the facility.
It also requires Panasonic to make at least $1 billion in capital investment and cooperate with an annual audit conducted by the Department of Revenue.
"I really do feel like I am the steward of taxpayer money, and I want to be a good steward. We make sure we put in a lot of guardrails to protect Kansas and the taxpayers," Kelly said.
KSHB 41's Alyssa Jackson asked the governor, "To you, what does success look like for Panasonic in Kansas?"
Kelly said property tax values going up and revenue coming in from income taxes generated from all the new jobs in the area.
Panasonic is the state's largest investment and one of the governor's proudest moments since she was elected in 2019.
"It’s certainly way up there," Kelly said. "There were a whole lot of things I wanted to accomplish ... early childhood education, fully funding our schools, cutting taxes. One of the sort of more nebulous things I wanted to do was change the image of Kansas. I wanted Kansas to be seen as a cool place young people wanted to stay or come."
When Panasonic opens in April, that's when Kelly believes more jobs will gradually fill so the plant can operate. At last check, the company hired 400 workers.
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KSHB 41 reporter Alyssa Jackson covers portions of Johnson County, including Overland Park, Prairie Village and Leawood. Share your story idea with Alyssa.