Kansas senators hear sharp debate over House Bill 2396 property-tax package; committee advances constitutional substitute

The Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee on May 1 heard wide-ranging testimony on House Bill 2,396, a proposal that would repeal the state’s revenue-neutral notification process for local property-tax increases and create a new state fund intended to offset some local tax burden.

Supporters including county officials and the Kansas Association of Counties said the bill is intended to restrain local spending while giving local governments predictable relief from rising costs. Opponents, including policy groups and some legislators, said removing the revenue-neutral requirement would reduce transparency and likely lead to higher taxes for many Kansas property owners.

Why it matters: The revenue-neutral process requires local taxing authorities to notify taxpayers and hold a separate vote before increasing property-tax collections beyond a calculated baseline. HB 2396 would replace that mechanism with a combination of mill-levy limits tied to inflation, a citizen protest petition process keyed to signatures equal to 10% of the presidential vote in the jurisdiction, and an Ad Astra fund (state funding) to be distributed to eligible local governments.

Supporters’ case

Jay Hall, deputy director and general counsel for the Kansas Association of Counties, said HB 2396 “represents a partnership between local governments and the state.” Hall told the committee that local governments face rising input costs — gravel, chemicals and other materials — that make revenue-neutral budgeting difficult to sustain.

Jim Howe, a Sedgwick County commissioner speaking for his county commission, urged technical fixes but supported the bill’s basic approach to limit growth and to put a mechanism in place that would let voters rein in spending that grows beyond a CPI measure. Howe described the appraisal scatter he sees in Sedgwick County and said the bill “apportions the tax…