Douglas County reviews draft 2026 legislative platform, debates home-rule and tax-lid language

Lawrence, Kan. — The Board of Douglas County Commissioners spent much of its Nov. 12 meeting reviewing a draft 2026 legislative platform and asking staff to return a revised version for potential approval on Dec. 3.

Jake Broadbent, assistant to the county administrator, described the document as a draft with "minor edits from Little Government Relations" and said staff sought the commission's feedback before finalizing the platform. Stuart Little of Little Government Relations told commissioners the platform is "built upon what we did last year" and noted it had been trimmed in places while retaining earlier priorities.

Commissioners focused discussion on home rule and so-called tax-lid proposals. The presiding commissioner urged stronger language warning that caps on local taxing authority could reduce essential county services: "I would advocate for maybe a little stronger language around tax lids and very specifically what it will impact local services," the chair said. Little explained advocates are tracking a constitutional amendment and statutory options to cap growth, but said such measures have historically struggled to gain sufficient legislative support and any durable fix would require flexible statutory implementation.

Members also considered housing-related items in the platform. Commissioners and staff discussed support for measures developed by a multi-county housing group and the Kansas Housing Advocacy Network, with one commissioner offering to provide handouts and examples of proposed bills for inclusion in the platform. Commissioners debated whether tenant-rights measures, such as a right to counsel, belong on the county platform or are more appropriate at the state level; staff and consultants said tenant-rights proposals were not a central component of the housing package they described.

Staff recommended, and commissioners agreed, to revise the platform and return it for possible approval on the Dec. 3 agenda. Sarah (last name not specified in the record), county staff, said scheduling constraints late in the year made early December the most practical target for a final vote.

The commission opened and closed public comment on the platform; no speakers signed up to speak in person or online.

What’s next: Staff will prepare a revised platform reflecting the commission’s feedback and place it on the Dec. 3 agenda for formal consideration.