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Committee approves amendment and advances bill to freeze countywide sales‑tax apportionment while formula is revised
Summary
House Bill 2,377, which would change how countywide retailer sales tax is apportioned between counties and cities, was amended to freeze current apportionment from July 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2026; the committee approved the amendment and later passed the bill favorably as amended by voice vote.
The Committee on Taxation approved an amendment to House Bill 2,377 that temporarily freezes the distribution formula for countywide retailer sales tax and then voted the bill favorably as amended.
House Bill 2,377 would change the method used to apportion countywide retailer sales tax revenue between counties and cities. The reviser explained the underlying bill shifts the apportionment basis from the current method tied to tangible property tax levies to a method based on assessed valuations. That change prompted questions from committee members and local governments about unintended consequences for taxing entities that do not lower mill levies.
Representative Hohisel offered an amendment that restores the current apportionment formulas and inserts a temporary provision stating that the apportionment shall not change between July 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2026. Hohisel said the amendment’s intent is to “hold everybody harmless” while the Kansas Association of Counties and the League of Municipalities develop a permanent formula that supports property tax relief without penalizing other taxing entities.
The reviser explained the amendment technically restores the current law in non‑italicized text and adds an italicized exception establishing the freeze for the specified period. The reviser also pointed committee members to paragraph d of the current statute, which pulls out a number of special tax authorities and grants those projects the ability to retain funds outside the standard apportionment formula.
Representative Sawyer seconded the amendment. The committee approved the amendment by voice vote; the chair recorded that the motion carried and asked whether anyone wished to be recorded.
Following limited additional discussion and no stated opposition in the room, Representative Caweysel moved that the committee pass House Bill 2,377 favorably as amended; Representative Sawyer seconded. The committee again approved the measure by voice vote. No recorded roll call or numerical tally was entered in the transcript; the chair stated “motion carries.”
Committee members asked a procedural question about the frequency with which the Department of Revenue updates the apportionment ratios; a witness indicated the Department updates ratios twice a year, on Jan. 1 and July 1. The amendment’s freeze would therefore hold the current apportionment ratios steady through Dec. 31, 2026, giving local governments and associations additional time to propose a permanent apportionment method.
The committee adjourned after brief announcements and thanks to staff.
