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Local Officials Warn House Bill 2745 Could Restrict Spending and Raise Bonding Costs

Sedgwick County Board of County Commissioners and Wichita City Council · March 31, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

County and city lobbyists briefed commissioners and council members on House Bill 2745 (the new property‑tax cap and protest petition rules), warning the measure could cap spending growth at 3% or the Midwest CPI, let 10% protest petitions freeze spending to last year's level, and limit bonding capacity — raising potential credit‑rating and fiscal consequences.

County and city lobbyists told the en banc that House Bill 2745 introduces a new cap on allowable year‑over‑year spending increases and a protest‑petition mechanism that can limit a taxing jurisdiction to prior‑year expenditures if a petition meets the 10% threshold of registered voters.

"What 27‑45 does is add an additional layer," Jason Watkins, Sedgwick County’s contract lobbyist, told the commission. He described the cap as "either 3% or the CPI according to the Midwest index, whichever is less," and…

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