TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas lawmakers gave final approval early Saturday to a property tax relief plan aimed at slowing the pace of rising costs for homeowners, sending the measure to the governor after weeks of debate.
The Kansas House signed off on House Bill 2745 before adjourning, advancing a proposal that places limits on how quickly local property tax revenues can grow and provides residents with a mechanism to challenge increases.
Under the plan, most local governments would be restricted to increasing property tax revenue by roughly 3% annually. If a taxing authority seeks to exceed that threshold, voters could file a petition to trigger a public vote to block or overturn the increase.
The measure cleared both chambers of the Legislature, though by margins narrower than those typically required to override a gubernatorial veto, leaving its ultimate fate uncertain.
The legislation represents a compromise after lawmakers spent much of the session weighing broader approaches to property tax reform.
One alternative, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1603, proposed amending the Kansas Constitution to limit how quickly a property’s assessed value could rise, generally capping increases at 9% per year. That proposal stalled after the House rejected the Senate’s version, leaving the constitutional amendment unresolved.
With no agreement on the more sweeping plan, lawmakers moved forward with the statutory approach outlined in House Bill 2745.
The issue is expected to remain a priority when legislators return to Topeka for the veto session beginning April 9.