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Sedgwick County reviews 2025 legislative platform with focus on tag-office changes, sales-tax formula, forensic lab and election data
Summary
County staff outlined proposed platform changes including treasurer priorities for tag-office policy, review of HB 23-77 sales-tax distribution, support for HB 23-31 to advance a regional forensic science center, and a request to modify statutes that redact election-result data.
Sedgwick County staff briefed commissioners Friday on a draft 2025 legislative platform that highlights treasurer priorities for tag offices, seeks further review of state sales-tax distribution formulas, and supports bills for a regional forensic science center and changes to redaction of election results.
Tanya, the staff member leading the briefing, said the treasurer’s section retains previously stated priorities and adds clarifying language: lifting geographic boundaries to permit tag work at any county office, privatizing some administrative functions for registration and renewals, expanding online capacity and staggered personalized-plate processing, and supporting a transaction fee increase to sustain fee-funded services.
On county finance, staff asked commissioners to continue support for review of HB 23-77, which would change the countywide 1% sales-tax distribution formula. The platform language describes concerns with KSA provisions that tie distributions to property-tax levies and suggests considering assessed value or alternative distribution metrics. Sedgwick County has engaged a researcher from the WSU Hugo Wall School, Dr. Guo, to analyze alternatives; staff expect preliminary results by Thanksgiving after comparing Sedgwick and Johnson County data and city-level splits.
Staff also said the county will work with Kansas Senate leadership to advance 2025 HB 23-31 to create or support a Regional Forensic Science Center, and that the elections-office section was revised to propose eliminating redaction of election-results data by statute modification.
Timing and process: Tanya said the county aims for a near-final draft by the Oct. 22 meeting and typically finalizes a platform for commission adoption in November or December. She also noted the legislative session will be short and that the county’s lobbyist, Jason, is advising staff to keep the platform concise and focused on priorities that have a realistic path through leadership.
Discussion-only items: The briefing involved staff recommendations and commission feedback; there were no formal votes recorded during the meeting.
Ending: Staff requested commissioners review the updated draft and planned to circulate proposed language from legislative leadership when available so the county can align its platform.
