House committee advances broad property-tax substitute after debate over ballot language and 25% threshold

Chair Taylor’s Special Committee on Property Tax Reform voted to advance a consolidated House Committee substitute covering House Bills 2780 and 2668 after a daylong markup that included ballot-labeling cleanup, the removal of blind-pension references and an extended debate over a proposed 25% registered-voter assent threshold for certain local tax measures.

The committee adopted a clerks’ requested cleanup amendment to standardize ballot titles so measures appear alphabetically (A, B, C) rather than under potentially misleading names. Representative Murphy, who explained the amendment on the floor, said the change reflected language county clerks asked the committee to adopt: “This is just cleanup language on the, the ballot, titling so that it would be ABC rather than I love my puppy,” she said. The committee approved that amendment by voice vote.

Members then debated a larger amendment that would add multiple provisions, including a mechanism some members read to contain a 25%-of-registered-voters assent requirement for certain off‑cycle local tax measures. Several lawmakers—across both sides of the aisle—warned that a 25% affirmative threshold could produce perverse outcomes or incentives. Representative Chappell said the measure could produce anomalous results in close contests and encourage gaming of turnout; Representative Davidson and Representative Murphy echoed concerns that percentages can become bargaining points in negotiations.

Sponsor supporters said the provision was intended to increase voter buy-in without forcing every local election into the November general election. Representative Fowler said clearer ballot labeling and thresholds could reduce misrepresentation, noting examples where ballot language had obscured the substance of a measure.

Chair Taylor told the committee he would have staff prepare an amendment to the amendment that would strip the 25% provision while preserving the clear-ballot-language changes; the committee stood at ease while staff prepared revised text. The committee later rolled earlier amendments into a new substitute and adopted that substitute, then voted to give the consolidated HCS a committee recommendation to pass.

Votes at a glance: - House Committee substitute for HB 2780 and HB 2668 — committee recommendation: do pass; final roll call recorded 13 aye, 3 no (one member recorded present during a roll call). (Committee motion and roll call are recorded in the transcript.) - House Committee substitute for House Joint Resolutions 148 and 111 — committee recommendation: do pass; roll call recorded 14 aye, 3 no. - Ballot-title cleanup amendment (.02H) — adopted by voice vote. - Blind-pension removal amendment (.04H) — adopted by voice vote. - Kansas City Public Schools technical amendment (to address Hancock provision impact) — adopted by voice vote.

Why it matters: The substitute bundles multiple statutory and constitutional changes intended to alter how local tax measures are labeled and when elections occur, and to modify the mechanics that determine whether some local tax propositions succeed. Committee members said the package aims to increase voter engagement for decisions that affect taxpayers but also warned the omnibus approach expands across many statutes and could shift tax burdens between communities.

Next steps: The committee recommended the substitute be reported to the House floor. Several members said they expect and intend to bring additional floor amendments, including the sponsor’s promised amendment to remove the 25%-assent language if the committee could not reach clarity in committee.