Freshman Kansas senator ‘trying to stop bad stuff' while pressing for property tax relief
Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Topeka Democrat, appears at a Feb. 28, 2025, recording of the Kansas Reflector podcast to talk about his desire for property tax relief, legislative priorities, and the condensed schedule for this year's session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — The way freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt sees it, a shorter legislative session isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Republican legislative leaders condensed the schedule this year to complete work by the end of March, then come back for just a couple of days in the middle of April to consider any vetoes by Gov. Laura Kelly and make last-minute budget adjustments. That's a significant departure from the schedule most years, where the session bleeds into April and lawmakers return around the start of May for another week or two of action.
But Schmidt, a Topeka Democrat, said the shortened timeline for passing bills could work in Democrats' favor. As he put it during a recording of the Kansas Reflector podcast: 'We're trying to stop bad stuff.'
'It might not be the worst thing if we can run out the clock on some of these extremist ideas that they are always presenting,' Schmidt said.
Schmidt's journey to the Statehouse was preceded by his time as a U.S. Navy intelligence officer. He said he 'spent a lot of time sailing in circles in the South China Sea,' and served with special forces in Bahrain before going to work in the Pentagon.
But after he witnessed the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection while living across from the U.S. Capitol, he was motivated to enter the political arena.
'I was close enough to smell the tear gas and bear spray and to see the people violently assaulting law enforcement officers,' Schmidt said. 'And I'm really saddened, especially by what we saw last month at the pardons of people that violently attacked law enforcement officers. And I think that it's a sad day. I think it's a dangerous day for the country.'
Schmidt ran for a U.S. House seat in 2022, when he lost to an incumbent Republican, then in 2024 won an open 19th District seat that stretches from East Topeka to northwest Lawrence.
The district shouldn't even exist, Schmidt said. He blames GOP gerrymandering for a disconnect between the priorities of legislators and the needs of Kansans who are hurting. Republicans last fall expanded their supermajority ranks to 31 seats in the 40-member Senate.
'Moses did not come down from the mountain with 40 Senate districts in Kansas drawn exactly so to ensure only nine Democrats and 31 Republicans,' Schmidt said. 'These are wholly artificial creations that I think really distort democracy in this state.'
Schmidt said he is disappointed that lawmakers haven't given more attention to providing property tax relief to homeowners, as voters urged them to do last fall. Since the session began in January, Schmidt said, he has heard from people on fixed incomes who are 'crying to me' about the possibility of being driven from their home.
He was dismayed that the first vote in the Senate this year was for legislation that would eliminate property taxes for private jets and yachts. Senate Bill 10 passed 37-3. And the only bill the Legislature has passed into law so far, Senate Bill 63, bans gender-affirming care for minors.
Another bill that passed the Senate would allow educators to misgender trans kids. Schmidt said Senate Bill 76 equates to 'legalized bullying' of kids who are already struggling with suicidal thoughts.
He wondered: 'Is passing these bills worth one more suicide in Kansas?'
Also: 'Why are we spending time on this instead of giving Kansans a solution for property taxes?'
Schmidt broke from party ranks to support Senate Concurrent Resolution 1603, which would ask voters to consider a constitutional amendment that limits taxable property valuations from increasing by more than 3% annually. An amendment made the adjustment retroactive to 2022, which means some people could actually see an immediate decrease in taxes.
The legislation requires two-thirds support in both the Senate and House before it would be placed on the November 2025 ballot. Schmidt was one of two Democrats who voted in favor of the resolution when the Senate passed it 28-11 on Feb. 6. So far, the House has shown no interest in the idea.
'I've spoken with my Democratic colleagues, I've spoken with the governor, I've spoken with my Republican colleagues, and they didn't all agree with me,' Schmidt said. 'But I'm very confident that when it comes to best outcomes for the 19th, and I think best outcomes for the state, the people want to vote on this. And I think if they want to vote on it, if they want to vote themselves to lower their property taxes, we need to give them that opportunity and trust the voters.'
His hope is that lawmakers return their focus to property taxes before the clock expires on the condensed legislative session.
'I would love to see real property tax relief for Kansans,' Schmidt said. 'I think that would help the most people all across, you know, regardless of location or socio-economic status. That would help the most people.
'But we need to be having serious conversations about why our population is not growing and why so many people struggle to see their future here. And you know, again, I think it gets back to these issues where we have a pretty good understanding of what people want, and the Legislature owes it to them to start delivering.'
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