TOPEKA — Kansas legislators’ lineup of property tax relief legislation could chip away at state and local revenue, but some see the proposals as course correction, making up for years of rising property taxes.

One bill would phase out Kansans’ property taxes in favor of added sales taxes, and another would exempt seniors from paying property taxes that go toward funding school districts.

But legislators, who have eagerly pursued tax relief legislation in recent years, were conflicted about the proposals.

Sen. Mike Murphy, a Sylvia Republican, said Tuesday that the Legislature needs to look at property tax relief differently. Past measures haven’t made much of a dent, he said, and he often hears from constituents who are struggling to pay their property taxes.

“I look at property tax as a Titanic that’s hit the iceberg, and it’s going down,” Murphy said. “We can rearrange the deck chairs. We can ask the band director to play a little bit peppier song, but I don’t think it’s going to — we’re not going to be able to fix it.”

He propped up Senate Bill 488, or the “Kansas property tax freedom act of 2026,” as a potential solution. The bill would phase out property tax payments over the next two years and eliminate property tax levies beginning in the 2028 tax year. Taxing jurisdictions such as school districts, counties and cities would make up for the lost revenue through sales tax surcharges on medicine, fuel, rent and mortgage payments, utilities, child care and K-12 tuition.

Murphy acknowledged during the Tuesday hearing before the Senate’s tax committee that the bill, as written, didn’t work.

Sen. Jeff Klemp, a Lansing Republican, agreed.

“It’s not ready for prime time on all the aspects of it, but I think it warrants a conversation, and I’m glad you brought it up,” Klemp said.

Both chambers would need to pass a resolution and a majority of voters would have to approve an amendment to the state constitution to phase out and eventually prohibit property tax levies before the act could go into effect.

For supporters, the bill was a silver bullet solution that they believed could provide near immediate property tax relief.

Tatum Lee, a former state legislator who represented a west-central district, said the bill was crucial to maintaining affordability for generations.

“It doesn’t matter if you live on a farm or if you live in a house. Your home is where the heart is and we should not have to be renting from the government year after year,” Lee said.

Sen. Marci Francisco, a Lawrence Democrat, asked Murphy whether the proposal would disproportionately benefit the wealthy. Murphy didn’t directly answer the question, saying a response would depend upon individual properties’ circumstances.

Charlotte O’Hara, a Johnson County commissioner and Republican candidate for governor, said the property tax burdens of today are a symptom of the 1986 voter-approved constitutional amendment that created the current annual property appraisal system.

“For 40 years we have been busy eviscerating our tax base,” O’Hara said.

Simultaneously, voters approved another amendment in 1986 to allow cities and counties to offer 10-year property tax breaks to new or expanding businesses that added employment opportunities.

“We have a two-tier tax regimen in Kansas: Those who lobby and can get favors and the rest of us,” O’Hara said.

People are fed up, she said, and Band-Aids will no longer work.

A fiscal assessment attached to the bill estimated the state would lose nearly $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2027, $5.8 billion in 2028 and $7.9 billion in 2029.

The bill outlined a plan beginning in 2027 to impose a state surcharge of $1.60 per transaction worth $20 or more. For transactions less than $20, the state would impose a surcharge worth 7.6% of the transaction total. Pending local voter approval, taxing entities such as counties, cities and school districts would also be able to add on a local surcharge within their boundaries to debt service payments on general obligation bonds for capital improvements. The bill did not define amount limits for local surcharges.

Even with the surcharge reimbursements, the Kansas Department of Revenue estimates the state would lose $14 billion over the next three years.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 1625, another proposed constitutional amendment, would exempt residential property from school district tax levies if the property’s owner is above the age of 60.

Rep. Ken Corbet, a Topeka Republican, presented the bill to the Senate tax committee Wednesday.

“As we go door to door, people are always asking, ‘I don’t have any kids at school. Why am I paying these frickin’ school taxes?’ Or, maybe they never had kids at all and they’ve been paying for 40 years,” Corbet said at a Wednesday hearing.

Nearly a quarter of Kansas’ population is over 60 years old, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, and that age group makes up an estimated 30% of the state’s taxpaying population. The bill, however, did not include a cost assessment.

“Remember, if you’ve got enough money for Panasonic and the Chiefs, this is pencil dust,” Corbet said.

He said school property taxes are “out of control,” and seniors are being taxed for a product they do not use. 

Francisco, the Lawrence Democrat, said taxes allocated to school districts are retroactive payments for the education older generations received years ago.

Sen. Ethan Corson challenged Corbet’s argument, calling it circular logic.

“If I haven’t checked out a book from the library, should I have to pay for the library? If I haven’t gone to a particular park, should I have to pay for parks?” he asked.

He added: “There are just some things that are part of the community that are a shared responsibility.”

Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Parker Republican and chair of the Senate tax committee, said she doesn’t think seniors mind paying for education.

“But when we’re starting to carpet football fields and other things, I think they see that when they’re trying to decide whether they buy their medicine, pay their property tax or buy food,” she said.

SCR 1625 and SB 488 are just two of many proposals targeting property taxes that are snaking through the Legislature. The Senate advanced Senate Concurrent Resolution 1616 on Feb. 25, which would cap annual property valuation increases, but critics are skeptical the bill would provide immediate relief. The House passed provisions last month that creates a pathway for voters to file protest petitions if local governments raise property taxes more than 3% annually. Tyson tried to divert a tranche of state lottery revenue to replace property tax revenue collected for K-12 schools. Republican Rep. Blake Carpenter also pitched an idea for next year’s Legislature, which involves cutting sales tax exemptions to replace the state levy to fund public schools.

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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