(Updated to add Sen. Ron Ryckman to Republicans who opposed the bill; corrects Fagg hometown)
The Kansas Senate wielded its new expanded supermajority Thursday when it passed a constitutional amendment capping property appraisals at 3% for tax purposes.
The Senate voted 28-11 to pass the amendment with two votes to spare to gain the two-thirds majority it needed for passage.
Republicans lost five votes – Sens. Bill Clifford of Garden City, Stephen Owens of Hesston, Mike Fagg of El Dorado, Ron Ryckman of Meade and Tory Marie Blew of Great Bend – and still got the two-thirds majority they needed.
Two Democrats – Sen. Patrick Schmidt of Topeka and David Haley of Kansas City – supported the amendment and helped it gain passage.
The amendment would go on the ballot this fall if it’s passed by the House, which has shown no interest in running the bill on its side of the rotunda.
The Senate passed a similar proposal in 2023, but it died in the House last year because of concerns about the impact.
The amendment would limit increases in property values for tax purposes to 3% each year.
So while the appraised value of the property would not be limited under the amendment, a 3% cap would be placed on the property value for tax purposes relative to appraised property values in 2022.
The cap would not apply in cases where new construction or improvements have been made to the property. The cap would still apply when a property is sold, a change made in the bill as it came out of committee.
Supporters of the bill have said the amendment is a response to soaring property values and the increase in property taxes that follows.
“During the recent contentious election cycle, it was abundantly clear at the doors that voters were hurting due to uncontrolled property taxes, property tax burdens driven by out-of-control valuations,” said Republican state Sen. Jeff Klemp of Lansing.
“This resolution reflects the conscious decision by Kansans to elect members who understood that pain,” Klemp said.
Opponents said the bill would do nothing to lower property taxes and sends the wrong message to the public about the impact.
“This constitutional amendment would limit increases in property tax valuations,” said Democratic Rep. Marci Francisco of Lawrence.
“But because local governments set their mill levies, even with these limitations there could be substantial increases in property taxes,” she said.
Owens said the amendment leaves Kansans with the mistaken idea that their property taxes will only be raised 3% a year and has been shown to distort house markets and shift property tax burdens.
“We can and must do better for the people of Kansas and deliver on property tax reform that actually accomplishes tax relief, not just purports to do so,” he said.
Republican state Sen. Mike Thompson said the bill was needed to wrest control away from little-known appraisers who contribute to property tax increases.
“We have unelected appraisers that are doing the dirty work,” Thompson said.
“They are the ones who are raising the property values, and then the local tax authorities can claim they didn’t raise your taxes and they can just let the appraiser do the hard work,” he said.
“They’re unelected. They’re faceless. We don’t know who the appraisers are most of the time,” he said.
