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Kansas Constitution, statutes limit how property is valued and exempted, presenter tells committee
Summary
A committee briefing reviewed how Article 11 of the Kansas Constitution and state statutes constrain property tax valuation, classification and exemptions, and how courts have interpreted those limits.
Amelia, a staff presenter to the Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, told members on Oct. 12 that the Kansas Constitution’s Article 11 establishes both the framework and limits for property taxes, including valuation, classification and exemptions.
The presentation focused on Section 1 of Article 11 and related provisions, and urged committee members to remember that “the legislature shall provide for a uniform and equal basis of valuation and rate of taxation of all property subject to taxation,” a constitutional requirement Amelia read and discussed.
Amelia explained that the constitutional uniformity and equality mandate covers both the basis of valuation and the rate of taxation and that the legislature has implemented that mandate by setting fair market value as the general valuation standard and by prescribing a uniform valuation date: January 1. She summarized the statutory definition of fair market value and noted the three standard appraisal approaches—cost, sales-comparison and income-capitalization—used to reach that valuation.
She cautioned that the constitution provides specific exceptions to strict uniformity, including classifications that allow different valuation bases for certain categories such as land devoted to agricultural use, some motor vehicles and commercial machinery and equipment. She noted that the agricultural-use valuation method is authorized by Section 12 of Article 11 and implemented in statute.
Amelia discussed recent case law that has tested statutory deviations from fair market value. She cited a Kansas Supreme Court decision striking part of a 2014 statutory provision that would have permitted a maintained valuation for a property for two years after a reduced valuation, explaining the court found that approach could result in groups of property not being valued at fair market value and therefore deemed that portion unconstitutional.
The presenter also reviewed constitutional provisions that authorize classifications and fixed assessment rates for different property types (for example, residential real property and agricultural land) adopted by amendment in the 1980s. She summarized the constitutional exemptions for property used exclusively for state, local or specified nonprofit purposes, and described a separate constitutional provision that allows cities and counties to grant exemptions for economic development subject to legislative limits.
Amelia closed by reminding the committee that while the power to tax is a legislative function, the courts have repeatedly held the legislature’s authority is constrained by Article 11’s uniformity, valuation and exemption requirements.
Amelia stood for questions after the presentation; committee members then moved on to a separate presentation on tax expenditures.
