Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoes five more bills from the current legislative session, including one dealing with property tax reform.

 

House Bill 2043 aimed to limit local government budget increases to 3% or the rate of inflation and created a petition process for voters to challenge increases above that threshold. Kelly stated that, while she agrees that property taxes in the state are too high.

 

""For the last several years, the Legislature has promised to solve the property tax issue for Kansans. This has always been a false promise. The only property tax that the state levies is 20 mills for public schools. All other property taxes are levied at the local level.," Kelly said. "I don’t dispute that property taxes in Kansas are too high ... It is time for the Legislature to partner with our city and county officials to develop a strategy to reduce the property tax burden on their constituents and return to the balanced “three-legged stool” approach to taxes — sales, income and property — that Kansas needs to thrive."

 

Kelly also vetoed a bill that would have recognized gold and silver coins as legal tender (HB 2515), another that would exempt certain agro-tourism operations from local code (HB 2111), a bill that would have allowed an income tax subtraction modification for armed forces compensation (HB 2044), and another bill that would have mandated daily recess for elementary students (HB 2763 ).