Why didn't Kansas lawmakers slash property taxes like they said they would?
What Happened to Property Tax Cuts?
It all seemed so easy back in January.
Delivering property tax relief and reform for Kansan homeowners was atop every Kansas legislator's list as if Moses himself was delivering them on stone tablets from Mount Sinai.
An expanded Republican supermajority, riding high off November's victory party rhetoric, blustered that property taxes were job No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.
Senate President Ty Masterson chiseled it to the very top of his GOP tablets, daring Gov. Laura Kelly's compliance. And when three property tax bills passed out of committee within the first weeks of the session, it appeared the mountain was moving to Moses just as promised.
Three months later, Moses came back down with broken tablets and a t-shirt, 'I went to the mountain top and all I got were these crummy 1.5 mills.'
So, what in the holy land happened?
▪ Lawmakers grossly oversold their agency — It shouldn't be a big secret by now that the state can only be so transformative with property taxes. They controlled a miniscule one percent — 1.5 mills — portion of your property tax bill for state and university building maintenance. In the end, it was the only unilateral thing they could play with and eliminated it to their credit. The fact it only saves $35 on a $200,000 house is a kick in the shins to vulnerable homeowners. Other bills like HB 2011 and the Dems SB 217 targeted the other portion of your bill under State auspices — 20 mills for local schools — but the juice was not worth the squeeze.
▪ Dueling chambers — For some reason, the Senate revived the same 3% cap on property value increases the House rejected last year. House leaders rejected it again, calling the constitutional amendment gimmicky, given that it doesn't force cities to cut any property tax. Instead, the House deftly proposed an innovative $60 million fund to incentivize local governments to lower property taxes (HB 2396/ASTRA fund). One stick. One carrot. One philosophical logjam.
▪ The well is running dry — As time wore on, enough lawmakers realized they were either unwilling, or unable, to cash checks they'd have to write for property tax relief. This session came on the heels of a massive signature $1.3 billion tax cut in 2024, including twice as much property tax relief. Don't forget, for every dollar of property tax relief they had to backfill with an equal dollar of income/sales tax revenue so schools and public building maintenance didn't' suffer. With the specter of state coffers going red by 2028, the well is drying up like the Ogallala aquifer.
▪ The flat tax 'okey doke' — With everyone spellbound on property taxes, Republican leaders pulled a classic 'okey doke' ball fake very late in the session, by slipping past a Kelly veto block to deliver a phased-in 4% flat income tax. Kelly proclaimed it the 'kiss of death for the Kansas budget' as it sucked the well even drier for property tax relief and unmasked conservatives true colors putting income tax cuts first.
In the end, there was no Promised Land. But maybe that's the lesson.
The State will not part the Red Sea meddling with mill rates. Not now.
The real issue, and their real power, lies in property assessment reform which they control through Kansas statutes and the county appraisal system.
That's a talk they could walk.
Bill Fiander is a lecturer at Washburn University in Topeka, specializing in public administration, urban planning, and state/local government.
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