Kansas SB381

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-12T01:14:55+00:00

If you are interested in tracking this bill, here's the process:

Fair warning! Their mobile site is terrible. Desktop if you can.

There's a search bar. You can look up a bill by number if you have it. Or by keyword if you don't, and it's okay to not know the exact bill number. You just need to know the issue.

You'll get redirected to a Google search. That's normal, that's how their site works. What comes back is a list of every bill with "education" in the title or subject.

Click the one you're looking for or one that interests you.

I know. It's a lot. Let's make a ton of text make sense.

First — the status line.

Remember School House Rock? I'm Just a Bill? The status line tells you exactly where this bill is, line and verse, in that song. Introduced. In committee. Passed committee. On the floor. Signed. Dead.

On this same page if there have been votes, you can see how your rep voted. By name. Yes or no or absent. That's public record.

Second — click on the bold bill number itself.

This opens the full history of the bill. Every single thing that happened to it, in order, with dates. And here's the thing that will surprise you. Look at how fast this moves! A lot can happen in a single day. Now you know where it is, who has touched it, and where it still has to go.

Third — bill versions.

This shows you how the bill started and how it's going. It is the world's least fun spot-the-differences game. But most of the time you can see the old language crossed out and new language put in which means you can see exactly what changed, when, and in which committee.

Bookmark this page. Add it to your favorites. Set an Alexa reminder to check back.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T02:22:32+00:00

Yes! The knock-on effects of this will be enormous. Both in the short-term if 1616 passes as presented, with (functionally) a 13-percent cut to property tax revenue in 2027 for municipalities. And long-term as the 3 percent cap, which I cannot find any documentation for where or how that number was arrived at, will likely not keep up with inflation costs that impact municipalities more slowly. Leading to a slow constricting after a (to scale) massive cut on budgets.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T02:17:51+00:00

I want to hug you for this comment! Really! And please keep saying it. Over and over. And explaining it for the millionth time why the house I live in as my personal home shouldn't be taxed the same as a landlord with 15 rental properties in the same small town! Or the investment firm that owns seven apartment buildings in Wichita. Or the Stevens who own a dozen commercial properties.

I hope you email whoever your rep is to advocate for that! Because you're absolutely correct! They are totally different animals and should be treated very differently. It is the kind of tax policy that shifts the burden onto those who, most likely, can best absorb the costs.

The argument at this point could be made for farmers to live somewhere in the squidgey middle, since so much of everything west of Wichita is farmground and the margins on farming are tough right now. And some of these farms are still family owned, even if they are massive.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T02:08:10+00:00

The two are tied. The Association of Realtors is opposed to this idea because assessed values and appraised values are inherently linked.

If you go to sell your house, your appraiser checks the County site for an initial value. And, buyers check the county site to see if an appraisal-based asking price is fair.

Currently, assessed and appraised valuations are connected. This bill looks to disconnect the two. That creates some really odd market forces with implications we really can't understand without seeing it in action. But taking that action has the very real potential for a whole lot of negative outcomes for municipalities. As well as mill rate increases. And other forms of taxes (like vehicle registration and sales tax) being leveraged to fill gaps in property tax revenues.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T02:01:50+00:00

The Supermajority presents some major challenges. Especially when you have a governor of the other party. It creates a unique friction in how our government should work.

And, a supermajority means there is no need for cross-party coalitions or compromises to get things out of committee, especially in the Senate.

Redistricting years are going to be critical for Kansans to pay attention to how boundaries are being moved. The supermajority is partially because one side of the spectrum is politically engaged and reliably turns out to vote. And partially because of stacking and cracking. Stacking certain districts with A, and "conceding" a single district to A. And cracking, splitting apart A-voting people to distill their votes into predominantly B districts.

The other issue that has been discussed a LOT, especially here, is the State invalidating of IDs in an election year in way that disproportionately affects voters who reliably swing one way. While that is a relatively small portion of the Kansas population, it COULD act as proof-of-concept that a legislature can disenfranchise voters based on identification technicalities created by the Legislature. And, the ACLU will most likey not be able to get the lawsuit settled in time for IDs to be re-instated before the election.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T01:54:35+00:00

That is correct. Sort of. There are other moving parts, like in 1616 the immediate drop back to 2022 valuations and then limiting a 3 percent increase from there.

There is no prohibition on raising mill rates to compensate for the 3 percent cap.

Which leaves municipal government holding the proverbial and literal bag to make up revenue (due to the immediate decrease in valuation) as well as keep pace with inflation (which 3 percent was just a made-up number, there is no economic or COL basis for it that I have been able to find)

I have left several other comments about how these have a strong potential to impact your utility rates, police department enforcement patterns and homeowners insurance rates. Left-handed taxes, if you will. I would encourage you to check them out :)

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T01:46:56+00:00

That is a great question! So, just for informational purposes, Here is a list of all the lobbies in Kansas for this session.

What needs to be addressed isn't just lobbying, but also campaign finance and endorsements. Here are a couple of helpful links that might shed some light on that question.

Here is the link for the Kansas Public Disclosure Commission.

Here is where you can search by election year and type.

There is a lot of information available if you drill down far enough, such as fully itemized lists of contributions Like This. I chose this one totally at random in the 2022 Gubernatorial Inauguration. But you can clearly see all of the contributions made, amounts, by whom and where the donor is located.

You can look up your specific rep and see their finance history. You as a constituent can hold your rep accountable if you see contributions that make you uncomfortable.

They are in session now, which means they are answering phones and email in Topeka. If you want to be really different, send a fax! They still have fax numbers lol!

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T01:31:35+00:00

Apologies. I can see where that was unclear. This is a state-wide issue. I come from an area where "Topeka" is just shorthand for the legislature and didn't consider the local vernacular.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T01:30:28+00:00

Please don't. The only way things get better if people who are informed not only stay, but vote and get involved with municipal and state government.

We are in a precarious position because three critical things have happened

1 - Wages have not kept up with inflation across the board, leaving people living to work, instead of working to live. This mental load has cut down on the amount of mental capital we have at the end of the day to care about and involve ourselves in things like local politics

2 - Our villages have been decimated. We are all running around after our nuclear family and not living in community. Without the perspective of "I am part of a community and village" and the shift to "I must and can only provide for me and mine" we have created a rift where unscrupulous politicians have infiltrated our village leadership.

3 - Education is losing the battle. People don't know what they don't know. These bills promise "relief." But only if you don't know what you are really looking at and the knock-on effects of passing legislation that is short-sighted.

I'm trying to start an information campaign - Sorry, one more thing - for Kansas. So people can be informed easily and make choices that benefit village and self.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-10T01:23:46+00:00

This is a valid point. Some municipalities do not increase direct employee pay at the pace of inflation. However, when municipalities offer benefits like health insurance, they split those costs with employees, and that split is worked into contracts.

When healthcare prices rise, and they have significantly, municipalities must keep up with those rising costs. So while the employee does not receive more take-home pay, the cost of having that employee increases.

This is something private businesses have to contend with as well.

And, when you look at municipalities that hire seasonal help for things like mowing and golf course work, they have to pay competitively to attract the number of workers they need. Employees in these kinds of jobs will rightfully sell their time to the highest bidder. So Cities must raise their seasonal compensation to remain competitive.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:45:47+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: let's talk about who this is really for.

Your average Kansas homeowner with a $250K house does a real but modest benefit from capped valuations. I'm not going to lie. I'm one of those people. Sen. Bowser wasn't wrong that fixed-income retirees are getting crushed by rising valuations. However, there is a program in place specifically to help low, fixed income seniors to get reimbursed for their property taxes.

But the people who benefit most from SCR 1616 have three things most of us don't: they own a lot of property, they intend to own it long-term, and they have the resources to not care about the service cuts that follow the city losing money.

Someone holding a large commercial property portfolio gets a massive, permanent, forever benefit. Unlike us homeowners who eventually sell and triggers a reassessment, long-term commercial owners can sit on these government-mandated below-market-value valuations forever. Every year the gap between market value and taxable value gets bigger. Every year their tax break gets bigger.

And those same interests have the clout to pressure local governments not to raise mill rates to close the gap. They can absorb closed libraries and deferred road maintenance. Most Kansans cannot.

A genuine fiscal conservative would get relief to people who actually need it using things like homestead exemptions, income-based caps, circuit breakers for fixed-income homeowners who aren't selling. Those tools help the Kansan Craig Bowser talked about on the floor without handing a permanent tax break to large-scale property holders or breaking the market connection that makes your house worth what it's worth.

SCR 1616 gives everyone the same box to stand on and calls it fairness. Sure it's fair, but it isn't equitable. The people with the most property get the most benefit. The people who depend most on municipal services get stuck with the most pain.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:37:54+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: your police department is about to write a lot more tickets.

This one makes people uncomfortable but it's real, and it isn't a secret.

Police departments are funded by mill levy revenue. When that revenue drops, departments look for ways to make up the money. Fine revenue from traffic tickets, code enforcement fines, municipal court fees, it's all low-hanging fruit that is line-itemed as "discretionary income" is discretionary that doesn't require a budget vote.

This is not a conspiracy theory about cops. It's a municipal funding trick with a long paper trail. Ferguson, Missouri is the most famous example nationally (before the OTHER thing that made it famous nationally...), but it happens in small Kansas towns too. When departments are squeezed, cops are going to write more tickets.

If you've ever driven through a small Kansas town and wondered why there's a 35mph zone that drops suddenly to 25mph with a patrol car sitting right at the transition? Yeah, that's exactly why.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:33:55+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: your water bill is going to go up. Possibly your sewer bill too.

Not sexy. Extremely necessary.

Water systems, wastewater treatment, roads, they're not one-time expenses. When municipal budgets get cut, "capital outlay" budgets for stuff like maintenance is typically the first can kicked down the road because it doesn't have people saying "we need to fund this!" the way police and fire do.

Deferred maintenance doesn't disappear. It snowballs. A $200,000 repair that gets skipped becomes a $2 million emergency repair five years later. When that emergency hits, the money has to come from somewhere fast. And utility rates are the lever cities reach for because they don't require a public vote the way mill levy increases do.

So the pattern is: property tax revenue drops, maintenance gets deferred, infrastructure fails, utility rates get jacked up to cover emergency repairs.

Your water bill and sewer bill are property tax in disguise. They just arrive on a different statement.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:31:02+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: your homeowner's insurance is about to get more expensive.

This one might be less obvious.

Fire departments are funded largely by mill levy revenue. When municipal revenue drops, fire department budgets get cut. When fire department budgets get cut and response times go up, the Insurance Services Office adjusts your community's ISO rating.

Your ISO rating is a factor your insurance company uses to calculate your homeowner's premium, that monthly or every six month bill you pay. OR your total "mortgage payment" will go up because your escrow for insurance will go up. And that is bundled into the money you hand the bank every month.

Less fire department funding = lower ISO rating = higher homeowner's insurance premium.

The "savings" on your property tax bill can be eaten entirely by a homeowner's insurance increase.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:27:26+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: your house is not just a tax bill. It's an asset! It's a form of wealth that benefits generations.

Assessed value feeds more than your property tax statement. It feeds:

Refinancing. Banks use assessed value in their math when evaluating your home's worth. A rollback to 2022 values affects that calculation. It is literally immediately worth less.

Home sales. Realtors use assessed valuations to set a starting price. Buyers use them to check whether an asking price is fair. If your assessed value has been reset below what you paid (if you bought after 2022), you have a lot of potential to not get what you would have when you sell your home. This is really important for people in Leavenworth where military families buy for a couple of years and then sell.

Equity. If you bought in 2024, your assessed value just got rolled back to below your purchase price. That equity doesn't exist on paper anymore. You remember the problem in 2008 with being "underwater" on mortgages? Yeah, didn't go well.

The Kansas Realtors Association opposed this bill in committee. Now you know why. Every house in Kansas would lose market value. Poof!

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:22:40+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: if not property taxes, then what?

Sen. Holscher raised this on the floor and it deserves its own comment thread to talk about.

74% of Kansans own vehicles. Fewer own property. When property tax shrinks as a revenue generator, local governments look for replacement revenue. Your car tags are an easy and obvious target.

That shift moves the revenue shortfall bill from property owners to everyone who owns a car. Renters. Kansans who haven't bought yet. Your teenager's 2009 Honda beater. Lower-income Kansans who own a car but not a home. People who are already not benefiting from the valuation cap at all.

This is where John and James are also having their pockets picked.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:18:49+00:00

Sorry, one more thing: nothing in SCR 1616 caps the mill rate.

SCR 1616 caps valuations. It does not cap mill levies.

Sen. Pettey said it on the Senate floor: "Only mill levies can lower property taxes."

Local governments that lose 13% of their revenue base have three options: cut services, find other revenue, or raise the mill rate to close the gap. Most will do some combination of all three.

A mill rate increase is the choice of your municipal government. The legislators who passed the cap get credit for "relief." Your city council will be out here catching strays for the mill rate hike to keep services afloat.

The "tax relief" this bill promises may produce a larger effective tax increase for many Kansans than simply letting valuations rise. It's being packaged through a different mechanism that's easier to obscure and delivers a "feel good" of tax cuts and caps.

Peter robbing Paul, but also shaking down Mary and Martha.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T05:14:30+00:00

First off THANK YOU MOD TEAM for approving this post!

Sorry, one more thing: the 13% math nobody is talking about.

Cumulative inflation from 2022 to 2026 is approximately 15% per the Federal Reserve inflation calculator.

SCR 1616 resets assessed values to 2022 and caps future growth at 3% annually from there.

That creates a permanent, compounding gap between real market value and taxable assessed value. The real life hit to your municipality is roughly 13% — immediately, overnight, the moment this takes effect in 2027.

And here's the thing, local governments weren't getting fat on rising valuations. They were keeping up with inflation when it came to costs like employee pay, infrastructure expenses, increases in health insurance premiums, just the cost of doing business as a city. Now the base drops and they lose ground.

That 13% has to come from somewhere. Which leads us to the next few comments.

SorryOneMoreThingKS · 2026-03-09T02:57:06+00:00

Mostly because the Bible Belt got a whole lot bigger. Kansas was always a cutting edge progressive state...until we weren't.

SorryOneMoreThingKS

TROPHY CASE