Kansas city and county governments could award no-bid construction contracts up to $100,000 under a bill that seeks to raise the ceiling for mandatory public bidding processes.
One legislator called the city of Lawrence “crazy” as conflicting housing bills passed the Kansas House on Wednesday, including one potentially restricting options for low-income renters.
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.
The Kansas House voted Wednesday to alter significant provisions of a bipartisan property tax reform bill granting the public a direct voice in decisions by local government to raise property taxes more than 3% annually.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
The City of Lawrence is seeking community feedback on a draft policy that details how the city will define and invest in affordable housing projects, what criteria developers must meet and more.
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Experiences of local tenants prompted Lawrence city commissioners to pursue creation of a tenant bill of rights, and to explore what it would take to ensure tenants can have legal counsel.
Proponents see a bill prohibiting local government officials from voting on major development projects in which they have a “substantial interest” as increasing transparency; opponents are concerned with what they view as overly broad language and hypocrisy.
The City of Wichita could soon become one of the largest cities in Kansas to withdraw its public notices from its paper of record.
A bill supported by Sedgwick County and the city of Wichita is requesting $40 million from the state for homeless shelter infrastructure, and it also requires localities to enforce ordinances on camping and vagrancy.
In Lawrence, plastic grocery bags are scarce after a citywide ban on the product took effect Friday. But on the state level, Republican lawmakers have vowed to prevent similar bans from going into effect — an attitude one environmental advocate calls unfair.
