TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature’s last-ditch attempt to make good on campaign promises to deliver property tax relief devolved into finger-pointing between candidates for governor and infighting among Republicans as lawmakers passed a bill that nobody seemed excited about.

Republican leadership produced House Bill 2043 in the waning hours of the session. The bill, which resembles a package Gov. Laura Kelly previously vetoed, effectively limits annual spending increases by local governments to 3% or the inflation rate, whichever is smaller. If a taxing entity tries to spend more, just 10% of the local voters who participated in the most recent election for secretary of state can sign a petition to block the spending increase. The bill now excludes schools and new construction from the spending lid.

Kelly can veto HB 2043 without worrying about an override attempt because the Legislature has adjourned for the year.

Republicans ignored the Democratic governor’s offer of nearly $500 million in property tax relief. That package was based on legislation proposed by Sen. Ethan Corson, a Fairway Democrat endorsed by Kelly in this year’s governor’s race.

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican who is also running for governor, took over tax negotiations for the final two days of the session. When he brought the result back to his chamber Friday night, he referred to it as “better than nothing.”

Corson referred to HB 2043 as “not a serious piece of legislation.”

He said it “shouldn’t be thought of as meaningful property tax relief,” that it was “poorly crafted” and “sloppily done,” and that the petition process is “completely absurd.” He compared Republican leadership to “the gang that could not shoot straight.”

“We don’t even know that this is going to provide any real property tax relief,” Corson sad. “I mean, this is really all just a shell game. We don’t have any runs. We don’t have any projections. We don’t have any sense of what this is going to do for Joe or Jane Kansan, because that’s what happens when you squander a whole legislative session passing more bills about third-grade recess than providing the people of Kansas actual property tax relief.”

He was referring to multiple attempts by the Legislature this year, including one passed on Friday, to dictate minimum requirements for recess in public schools.

Corson said he introduced three bills this year to provide property tax relief. His ideas included a one-time $250 rebate for vehicle registrations, exempting $150,000 of home values from the state mill levy and freezing property taxes for seniors.

None of those proposals advanced through the Senate tax committee.

“Why is that?” Corson asked, before answering his own question.

“I know how things work around here,” Corson said. “With the majority, word went out, you know, ‘Don’t give Corson any wins this session.’ Look, here’s the thing. I’m not the one who lost. The people of Kansas lost. That’s who lost.”

He went on: “We’re going to leave another session empty-handed. Frankly, we have just done a massive disservice to Kansans. But, you know, I’m glad that we regulated recess.”

Masterson’s response: “I think we got off on the campaign trail there a little bit.”

Masterson complained that Corson wanted to “write everybody a $250 check and call that a tax cut.”

“It was placebo,” Masterson said. “It was smoke and mirrors.”

Masterson tried repeatedly to push through a constitutional amendment that would cap annual increases in assessed property values at 3%. He complained that Democrats refused to get on board with his plan. Their concern was that it would only redistribute, not lower, the tax burden.

“It was a meaningful cap,” Masterson said. “It was a meaningful lid. You know what the vote was? No.”

“This is what the House is asking for,” he added. “This is not the vehicle I would want in my own doing, but it is something. And yeah, we can’t walk out of here and say we passed meaningful property tax relief — thanks to a lot of no votes. But this does set a lid and starts to mitigate increases.”

Senate and House Republicans, who campaigned in 2024 on the false premise that Democrats were standing in the way of property tax relief, wrestled with competing proposals all year. The House focused on legislation such as HB 2043 that would control local spending, while the Senate kept offering constitutional amendments on valuations.

After the session ended early Saturday, Masterson issued a statement blaming Rep. Adam Smith, a Weskan Republican who chairs the House tax committee, for blocking “real property tax relief.”

“Kansans have had enough, and they deserve better than this kind of obstruction and delay,” Masterson said. “I share their frustration, and I remain fully committed to fixing this crisis and delivering real property tax relief when I’m governor next year.”

Smith responded Monday night with an 887-word Facebook post. He said his goal was to offer a rational rebuttal, rather than engage in personal attacks.

He agreed that Kansans have had enough. But, he said, “they deserve more than a shell game disguised as property tax relief.”

“Manipulating valuation only gives the false pretense of lower taxes,” he said.

Smith said he negotiated in good faith throughout the session.

“For those Kansans that desire true property tax relief, neither of the two primary measures proposed provide a reduction in your property tax bill,” he said. “Even the tax lid on local government spending is a method to only slow the rate of growth in property taxes. The only way to provide true property tax relief at the state level is to subsidize property taxes with income and sales tax revenue.”

Instead, he said, the Legislature dedicated funding to support tax credits for aviation, provided massive incentives for Panasonic and the Kansas City Chiefs, and “even handed out money for the World Cup.”

“If Masterson wants to try to blame me for the lack of property tax relief in Kansas, I would remind him that as the President of the Kansas Senate, he had the power to prioritize meaningful property tax relief in many various ways,” Smith said. “Instead, he gambled everything on a single flawed policy and came up empty.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.

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