[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6362931,"mediaKeyId","2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960","parentId",2167171,"title","Committee hears bill to create tax-advantaged insurance savings accounts for property and casualty costs","audioSeconds",1651,"startMs",143000,"endMs",1794000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960&start=143&end=1794","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960/thumbnail_143000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6362931/Kansas/Committee-hears-bill-to-create-tax-advantaged-insurance-savings-accounts-for-property-and-casualty-costs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6362931-99a7c7a5d1af72175520f2a864cc397b/orig.mp4?Expires=1773244115&Signature=B0Pcn7xJuhnEn7fMVMo4wBSFdgYqaOocwiu7bjylIsfmwIxYyLxmOjELBKt80LZmPTkLbD0JBnJCVvzbAf2nc~6gZUFJKCqk6zBHn0y5P31qNgXdI7EiZ1SRqJx7MTyrcLO75ureVaLhAr~gEpLmf8LY84pIJO9bDQLzsgjHj88TDNnUS1x1c1RQJMt7-1XEG-0FLGcCVU5GStVewi9l4bKc-EoryZXf5NAzfv4XPZODK3qOcB1qkHBhRoh86X-VIkGXjKYlt6XODjzT-pZ59BM-GxTwCeK3ZWQe~LXeWvGEKbFTB~KX7197Nz76Ritfe6gS5rTks~4zL3wcyp2eIw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Committee on Assessment and Taxation, KS","date","2025-01-29T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 25, which would create an “insurance savings account” enabling individuals, couples and corporations to set aside pre-tax Kansas income for property and casualty insurance premiums and deductibles.

The bill would allow annual Kansas subtraction modifications for contributions, with proposed maximum contributions of $6,000 for individuals, $12,000 for married couples filing jointly and $25,000 for corporations. The subtraction and related addition modifications would commence with tax year 2026, according to the bill sponsor’s summary provided to the committee.

Amelia (staff member) summarized SB 25’s provisions, saying the bill “would enact the insurance savings account act to allow individuals and corporations the ability to establish insurance savings accounts” and described eligible uses and reporting requirements. She told the committee the bill would permit account funds to be used for eligible expenses, to be transferred to another insurance savings account, or invested in certificates of deposit designated as insurance savings accounts. She also said the secretary of revenue would establish annual reporting forms and adopt rules to administer the act.

Vicki Schmidt, Kansas Insurance Commissioner, testified in favor of the bill and described the policy goal: “I have challenged my staff to think outside of the box for ways to help lessen the impact on Kansans,” she said, citing rising premiums driven by severe weather, inflation and reinsurance costs. Schmidt said the accounts would be limited to property and casualty insurance and modeled on earlier state savings-account statutes for first-time homebuyers and adoptions. “If passed, we would be the first state in the nation to have the insurance savings account,” she told the committee.

Testimony in support came from financial-industry witnesses. Kale Beam, representing the Kansas Credit Union Association, said the association “applaud[s] insurance commissioner Schmidt for bringing forward this legislation,” noting credit unions’ experience administering other targeted savings accounts. Alex Orel, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the Kansas Bankers Association, said banks and credit unions view the proposal as “another tool that we see could be beneficial to Kansans” and expressed willingness to coordinate with the insurance commissioner’s office on implementation and outreach.

The bill text identifies covered insurance using statutory references and limits. Amelia noted eligible expenses are premiums paid to an insurance company as defined in statute and deductibles paid related to covered claims. She also said that withdraws from accounts that are not used for authorized purposes would be subject to recapture (i.e., added back as income) and therefore taxable. Financial institutions would not be required by the bill to designate or report accounts as insurance savings accounts beyond existing law; account holders would be responsible for filing required forms with the Department of Revenue.

Committee members pressed for clarifications about account mechanics. Senator Schellenberger asked whether automobile insurance is covered; Commissioner Schmidt replied that it is. Senator Peck and others asked whether account holders could withdraw funds for nonqualified uses; the committee was told the subtraction is only available if the funds are used for qualified purposes, and nonqualified withdrawals would be reported as income and taxed. Committee members also raised whether insurance companies could host such accounts, noting that life insurers sometimes maintain premium deposit accounts; witnesses said they were not aware of property-and-casualty insurers using that mechanism commonly and would research whether it is currently happening.

Members discussed competing fiscal estimates. Committee members referenced a Department of Revenue fiscal estimate of roughly $73,000,000 for the first year; Commissioner Schmidt said the sponsor’s office provided different estimates and offered to meet with the Department of Revenue to reconcile numbers. No final vote was taken; the committee chair said the bill would be queued for further work and that members hoped to resolve open technical and fiscal questions before the committee works the legislation.

The hearing record includes written testimony from Merilee Carpenter and Elizabeth Smaller; no opponent or neutral testimony was presented at the hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation 01/29/2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 25, which would create an “insurance savings account” enabling individuals, couples and corporations to set aside pre-tax Kansas income for property and casualty insurance premiums and deductibles.","taxTitle","Assessment and Taxation, Standing, Senate, Committees, Legislative, Kansas","taxId",20419,"location","Kansas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6362922,"Assessment and Taxation Committee approves introduction requests for multiple RS bills",102,4000,106000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960&start=4&end=106","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960/thumbnail_4000.jpg","/articles/6362922/Kansas/Assessment-and-Taxation-Committee-approves-introduction-requests-for-multiple-RS-bills","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6362922-7763a392169a19fb385dcc9c113f040f/orig.mp4?Expires=1773244115&Signature=Iu8y4ajk1w3BHIXiSVYoB1lNTYoGqdQMHcdT0rFaj3SktT4JUCyC0UZRCPfGg0Ej9S13PpMfSCNzvXxiGtaMYwM7aG3lxmZ8XcKlbt29OgmZSELvA9K619YBJQS5g6dPJGV8WNAvRS-2CimB5ncuEL2s7pkxB7LLD60xZjvMXIYyJa-EoLvbGgEQBr97KZI16QY93UGMMwYEdiB40VUuA8Ta7jkv4TNqgDMPRF7NG4k5TTO9Ev3ic8Hl5bkJ9MeT8GXyAa7bK3SE-~Q-YT5eDCxokK8X3Qpv5NowNfKeHUDMuuRuGB1aJQ5kI-BboBnYal-cYTdhBtQ6~8Uhrq~tog__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At the start of the session, the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee approved requests to introduce several RS (request) bills. Committee members asked for any objections and, seeing none, the chair directed staff to make the requests.

The requests recorded in the hearing included:

- RS322: described by a committee member as “an earnings tax bill.”
- RS0737: introduced by Scott Schneider on behalf of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association; the measure would allow a tax collector to retain a portion of tax collected, capped at $300 per month.
- RS0739: introduced on behalf of the Associated General Contractors; described as equalizing the tax treatment for remodeling with original construction (a sales-tax exemption).
- RS0298: described as an income-tax exemption (no further detail given during the request).

Each request was made with the phrase “Any questions? Any objections? We'll make the request,” and the committee proceeded without recorded objections. No formal roll-call votes were recorded at that time; the transcript records unanimous assent to file the requests.","The committee agreed without objection to requests to introduce several RS (request) bills, including an earnings-tax request and proposals affecting tax collection retention, sales-tax treatment of remodeling, and an income-tax exemption.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6362925,"Department of Revenue briefs committee on county appraisal process and statewide CAMBA system",1140,1980000,3120000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960&start=1980&end=3120","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2167171-c8df933520244b98b231df1774e94960/thumbnail_1980000.jpg","/articles/6362925/Kansas/Department-of-Revenue-briefs-committee-on-county-appraisal-process-and-statewide-CAMBA-system","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6362925-c0f65b6df22c91a430cb48312c6b64df/orig.mp4?Expires=1773244115&Signature=P~zgimrBogs18D312FBejpFB9C0ih9sV8LneN~kMcn2CEOdG7XlHB6~lx6GfwHCNK3KysjZZQ0tjG4JRBrlxLyVxHayf3mmsKcuSM56SkVdiDpY0bE~cL12aK7bwOFtptzIf-pMlna3nWImtIdTQBCGBtE8PL-plhg3LUwI0aq0iomhUmybCtpsKEj~KGG8KCmcrNZ5YEM5Ces7J-QDIOONt9Y1t87wJ0hnaREcE173nBYOPPDHRevvnnwGqLzihR3S0GUXIC3lSQn1l94G6kOLk6V~wQ-uXQdPLmRjsq~FKXZ6dQw3MqGtiREAgQA5JjlEfHf7~6EEBiJPtPHmMRw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Bob Kent of the Kansas Department of Revenue provided the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee with an overview of the state’s property valuation process, the statewide Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMBA) system and county appraiser responsibilities.

Kent said the CAMBA system (Assessment and Tax Pro, written by Tyler Technologies) is installed in all 105 Kansas counties and incorporates the Marshall & Swift cost program used for cost-estimation in the cost-approach to value. He told the committee county appraisers are appointed by the board of county commissioners to four-year terms and must have at least three years of mass-appraisal experience and be qualified by the director of property valuation per K.S.A. eligibility rules.

Kent explained the Division of Property Valuation performs both procedural compliance reviews and statistical ratio studies. The division evaluates a county’s median sales ratio — the ratio of appraised value to sale price — and measures compliance against a target range of 90 to 110. Kent said the coefficient of dispersion, a measure of uniformity, is also used and that values less than 20 are deemed in compliance for that metric.

He described key dates and mechanics for the annual appraisal cycle: appraised values are measured as of Jan. 1; property owners receive a notice of valuation and appeal rights (CVN) with a March 1 deadline for informal appeals; counties certify final appraisal rolls to the county clerk by June 1. Kent also described the three traditional approaches to value used in mass appraisal: the cost approach (using Marshall & Swift data), the sales-comparison approach (statistical regression techniques in the Grama system), and the income approach for income-producing properties.

Kent noted that land devoted to agricultural use is assessed on a use-value basis. Committee members corrected an earlier typo in his packet: agricultural land is assessed at 30 percent of its use value, not 25 percent. He said county appraisers generally reinspect each parcel at least once in a six-year cycle and maintain ownership records, maps, photographs and comparable sales data.

Senators asked whether the Division of Property Valuation directs counties to raise values. Kent said the division does not “go out and tell counties you have to raise your values” but that many counties remain below the statutory median ratio targets; he said roughly 60 counties had median ratios under 90 percent in the 2023 ratio study. Committee members also raised concerns about the effect of tear-downs and new construction on neighboring valuations; Kent said new, larger homes can influence neighborhood values over time, but appraisers should compare like-for-like properties when selecting comparables.

The committee ran out of time and requested that Kent return for a fuller session to answer additional technical questions, including why appraisal results differ across counties using the same underlying software.","Bob Kent of the Kansas Department of Revenue reviewed the statewide Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMBA) system, county appraiser duties, statutory appraisal standards and key deadlines for property valuation and appeals.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee hears bill to create tax-advantaged insurance savings accounts for property and casualty costs

Assessment and Taxation Committee approves introduction requests for multiple RS bills

Department of Revenue briefs committee on county appraisal process and statewide CAMBA system