Republicans and Democrats began the 2025 legislative session with much swagger about passing meaningful property tax reform. However, they adjourned last week with little accomplished. Some legislators honestly want to help taxpayers, but far too many in both parties are more interested in currying favor with local governments than helping taxpayers.
The Kansas House of Representatives got the pro-government ball rolling by voting to repeal the highly effective Truth in Taxation / Revenue-Neutral Act by a vote of 115-6 on HB 2396. Fortunately, the Senate Tax Committee rejected the idea, and reinstated revenue-neutral.
The House responded by gutting SB 35 of an $80 million property tax reduction (that would eliminate 1.5 mills collected for state building maintenance) and substituting its second attempt to kill revenue-neutral by a vote of 109-9. House members said revenue-neutral isn’t working despite data in the table below showing that 62% of local governments voted not to increase property taxes this year. Another 500 local governments, representing 13% of the total, are raising taxes by less than 4%.
Lobbyists for cities, counties, and school districts have been begging legislators to repeal revenue-neutral and give them money to theoretically reduce property taxes (despite the fact that that concept has never worked), and that is what the House tried to do with HB 2396.
Had the House succeeded in repealing revenue-neutral, the local governments not raising taxes this year, as well as those with increases up to 4%, would surely raise taxes to that level and also qualify for a piece of the new $60 million ASTRA subsidy (a reworded version of the failed LAVTR subsidy taken out of statute just last year). Rather than encourage local officials NOT to raise taxes, the ASTRA subsidy would reward cities and counties for RAISING taxes by inflation plus new construction and spending for voter-approved debt.
The tax increase from the 2,300 entities not raising taxes this year and the nearly 500 with increases below 4% will almost assuredly raise taxes by at least 4% next year, at a cost of about $61 million.
By the way, House and Senate Democrats hypocritically took Republicans to task for not providing property tax relief despite not having made an effort themselves to introduce any tax relief. Most House Democrats voted for the gentler valuation limit based on a six-year rolling average, but they all voted against the 4% fixed limit, and all but one voted to repeal revenue-neutral.
More drama in conference committee
Representatives of the House and Senate Tax Committees conferences the week of March 24 to resolve differences on several bills, and two key agreements came out of those meetings:
- Senate Substitute for HCR 5011 would allow voters to decide whether to change the Kansas Constitution to limit the increase in assessed valuation to the lesser of 4% or inflation. The House originally (nearly unanimously) passed HCR 5011 with a limit based on a sx-year rolling average, and the Senate had passed SCR 1603 with a fixed limit of 3%. Several Republicans and Democrats (including some who complained the loudest about Republicans not passing significant tax reform) voted against SCR 1603.
- Senate Substitute for HB 2125 would place a lid on the amount of property tax local governments can collect without voter approval to the lesser of 4% plus new construction or inflation plus new construction and voter-approved debt payments. The bill also added the House’s proposed ASTRA incentive payments.
This is where vanity comes into play. The Senate passed the revised constitutional limit on assessed values by a vote of 27-13, with all Democrats and four Republicans voting no. After readily agreeing to the compromise in conference, the House openly worked in caucus and with comments on the House floor to kill the bill on a 37-88 vote. Unfortunately, ‘my way or the highway’ often prevents good legislation from passing, as 81 legislators who voted to use a six-year average to limit assessed value increases voted against doing so on a fixed percentage.
The Substitute for HB 2125 was not brought up for a vote in either chamber. No official reason was given, but vanity may have been a factor. Members of both chambers were disturbed by each other’s actions, and some animosity came bubbling to the surface.
One last chance for property tax relief this year
There is one last shot at providing meaningful property tax reform this year if the majority in both chambers really want to help taxpayers.
The original Senate constitutional amendment, SCR 1603, is sitting in the House Tax Committee. Parliamentary steps can pull the bill out of committee and brought to the floor for a vote, and it would go to the November ballot if two-thirds of House members vote for it.
The Conference Committee Report on Substitute for HB 2125 is also awaiting action in both chambers. Governor Kelly almost assuredly would veto it at the urging of cities, counties, and school districts, but at least taxpayers would know where their representatives and senators stand on a tax lid without voter approval.
Neither action will happen organically, so please join us in urging legislators to keep their pre-session promises and help taxpayers, not local governments.
