While the tax credit repayment is currently subject to an income cap, the Republican plan would remove the cap altogether, ostensibly to protect against fraud.
The league's current collective bargaining agreement calls for keeping the status quo through the 2009 season, then to remove the salary cap in 2010 if an agreement isn't reached by then.
The new law would remove the income cap for repayment and would require any taxpayer who receives more subsidy than he or she is entitled to receive to repay the credit, irrespective of income.
Richards also is likely to be gone from the Rangers, who can buy out the remainder of his lucrative deal and remove him from the salary cap that will go down next season.