SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125
AN ACT concerning property taxation; relating to tax levies and tax statements; modifying
the deadline for mailing tax statements to taxpayers to be earlier than the current
deadline; modifying the deadline for governing bodies to certify the amount of
property tax to be levied to the county clerk; providing for the county clerk's use of
the previous year's budget when a taxing subdivision fails to timely file its budget;
relating to the revenue neutral rate; modifying the content requirements of the
revenue neutral rate hearing notice; extending reimbursement from the taxpayer
notification costs fund for printing and postage costs for county clerks for calendar
year 2026; prohibiting a filing fee when a previous appeal remains pending before the
board of tax appeals; authorizing the continuation of the 20-mill statewide property
tax levy for schools; amending K.S.A. 74-2438a and K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 72-5142, 79-
1801, 79-2001, 79-2930, 79-2988 and 79-2989, as amended by section 204 of 2025
Senate Bill No. 125, and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 72-5142 is hereby amended to read
as follows: 72-5142. (a) The board of education of each school district
shall levy an ad valorem tax upon the taxable tangible property of the
school district in the school years specified in subsection (b) for the
purpose of:
(1) Financing that portion of the school district's general fund
budget that is not financed from any other source provided by law;
(2) paying a portion of the costs of operating and maintaining
public schools in partial fulfillment of the constitutional obligation of
the legislature to finance the educational interests of the state; and
(3) with respect to any redevelopment school district established
prior to July 1, 1997, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-1771, and amendments
thereto, paying a portion of the principal and interest on bonds issued
by cities under authority of K.S.A. 12-1774, and amendments thereto,
for the financing of redevelopment projects upon property located
within the school district.
(b) The tax required under subsection (a) shall be levied at a rate
of 20 mills in the school years 2023-2024 2025-2026 and 2024-2025
2026-2027.
(c) The proceeds from the tax levied by a district under authority
of this section, except the proceeds of such tax levied for the purpose
described in subsection (a)(3), shall be remitted to the state treasurer in
accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 75-4215, and amendments
thereto. Upon receipt of each such remittance, the state treasurer shall
deposit the entire amount in the state treasury to the credit of the state
school district finance fund.
(d) No school district shall proceed under K.S.A. 79-1964, 79-
1964a or 79-1964b, and amendments thereto.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 74-2438a is hereby amended to read as follows: 74-
2438a. (a) Except as provided in subsection (e), the executive director
of the state board of tax appeals shall charge and collect a filing fee,
established by rules and regulations adopted by the state board of tax
appeals, for any appeal in any proceeding under the tax protest, tax
grievance or tax exemption statutes or in any other original proceeding
for such board to recover all or part of the costs of processing such
actions incurred by the state board of tax appeals.
(b) The COTA filing fee fund is hereby renamed the BOTA filing
fee fund.
(c) The executive director of the board of tax appeals shall remit
to the state treasurer at least monthly all tax appeal filing fees received
by the state board of tax appeals. Upon receipt of any such remittance,
the state treasurer shall deposit the amount in the state treasury to the
credit of the BOTA filing fee fund.
(d) All expenditures from the BOTA filing fee fund shall be made
in accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of
accounts and reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the
executive director of the state board of tax appeals or a person or
persons designated by such executive director.
(e) No filing fee of any kind shall be charged by the executive
director to:
(1) A taxpayer who has filed an appeal for a previous year that has
not been decided by the board and is beyond the time period prescribed SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 2
by K.S.A. 74-2426, and amendments thereto still pending before the
board at the time another appeal is filed for the same parcel;
(2) any taxpayer filing in regard to single-family residential
property for a refund of protested taxes under the provisions of K.S.A.
79-2005, and amendments thereto, or an appeal from a decision
rendered pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1448, and amendments thereto;
(3) any not-for-profit organization if the valuation of the property
that is the subject of the controversy does not exceed $100,000; or
(4) any municipality or political subdivision of the state.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-1801 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 79-1801. (a) Except as provided by subsection (b), Each year
the governing body of any city, the trustees of any township, the board
of education of any school district and the governing bodies of all other
taxing subdivisions shall certify, on or before August 25 October 1, to
the proper county clerk the amount of ad valorem tax to be levied.
Thereupon, the county clerk shall place the tax upon the tax roll of the
county, in the manner prescribed by law, and the tax shall be collected
by the county treasurer. The county treasurer shall distribute the
proceeds of the taxes levied by each taxing subdivision in the manner
provided by K.S.A. 12-1678a, and amendments thereto.
(b) Prior to January 1, 2021, if the governing body of a city or
county must conduct an election for an increase in property tax to fund
any appropriation or budget under K.S.A. 25-433a, and amendments
thereto, the governing body of the city or county shall certify, on or
before October 1, to the proper county clerk the amount of ad valorem
tax to be levied. On and after January 1, 2021, if the governing body of
a taxing subdivision must conduct a public hearing to approve
exceeding the revenue neutral rate under K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2988,
and amendments thereto, the governing body of the taxing subdivision
shall certify, on or before October 1, to the proper county clerk the
amount of ad valorem tax to be levied.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2001 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 79-2001. (a) As soon as the county treasurer receives the tax
roll of the county, the treasurer shall enter in a column opposite the
description of each tract or parcel of land the amount of unpaid taxes
and the date of unredeemed sales, if any, for previous years on such
land. The treasurer shall cause a notice to be published in the official
county paper once each week for three consecutive weeks, stating in
the notice the amount of taxes charged for state, county, township,
school, city or other purposes for that year, on each $1,000 of valuation.
(b) Each year after receipt of the tax roll from the county clerk and
before December 15 1, the treasurer shall mail to each taxpayer, as
shown by the rolls, a tax statement which indicates the taxing unit,
assessed value of real and personal property, the mill levy and tax due.
In addition, with respect to land devoted to agricultural use, such
statement shall indicate the acreage and description of each parcel of
such land. The tax statement shall also indicate separately each parcel
of real property which is separately classified for property tax purposes.
The county appraiser shall provide the information necessary for the
county treasurer to comply with the provisions of this section. The tax
statement also may include the intangible tax due the county. All items
may be on one statement or may be shown on separate statements and
may be on a form prescribed by the county treasurer. The statement
shall be mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer or to a
designee authorized by the taxpayer to accept the tax statement, if the
designee has an interest in receiving the statement. When any statement
is returned to the county treasurer for failure to find the addressee, the
treasurer shall make a diligent effort to find a forwarding address of the
taxpayer and mail the statement to the new address. All tax statements
mailed pursuant to this section shall be mailed by first-class mail. The
requirement for mailing a tax statement shall extend only to the initial
statement required to be mailed in each year and to any follow-up
required by this section. Alternatively, the county treasurer may
transmit the tax statement to the taxpayer by electronic means if such SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 3
taxpayer consented to service by electronic means.
(c) After receipt of the tax roll from the county clerk and before
December 15 1, the treasurer shall mail to each taxpayer, as shown by
the tax rolls, a tax information form which indicates the taxing unit,
assessed value of real property for the current and next preceding
taxable year, the mill levy for the current and next preceding taxable
year and, in the case of unified school districts, the mill levy required
by K.S.A. 72-5142, and amendments thereto, shall be separately
indicated, the tax due and an itemization of each taxing unit's mill levy
for the current and next preceding taxable year and the percentage
change in the amount of revenue produced therefrom, if any. In
addition, with respect to land devoted to agricultural use, such form
shall indicate the acreage and description of each parcel of such land.
The tax information form shall also indicate separately each parcel of
real property which is separately classified for property tax purposes.
The county appraiser shall provide the information necessary for the
county treasurer to comply with the provisions of this section. The tax
information form may be separate from the tax statement or a part of
the tax statement. The tax information form shall be in a format
prescribed by the director of property valuation. The tax information
form shall be mailed to the last known address of the taxpayer. When a
tax information form is returned to the county treasurer for failure to
find the addressee, the treasurer shall make a diligent effort to find a
forwarding address of the taxpayer and mail the tax information form
to the new address. All tax information forms mailed pursuant to this
section shall be mailed by first class mail. Alternatively, the county
treasurer may transmit the tax information forms to the taxpayer by
electronic means if such taxpayer consented to service by electronic
means.
Sec. 5. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2930 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 79-2930. (a) Two copies of the budget certificate giving the
amount of ad valorem tax to be levied and the total amount of the
adopted budget of expenditures by fund, along with itemized budget
forms for each and every fund and proof of publication of the notice of
budget hearing containing the budget summary shall be presented to the
county clerk within the time prescribed by K.S.A. 79-1801, and
amendments thereto. All such budget information shall be filed
electronically with the county clerk. Where action has been taken under
any statute to increase the amount of tax to be levied authorized by law,
a statement showing the increased amount or tax levy rate voted, or a
copy of the charter resolution or ordinance making the change, shall be
attached to the budget each year the change is in effect. If any taxing
subdivision does not present or file such budget information with the
county clerk by 5:00 p.m. on October 1, then the county clerk shall use
the previous year's budget information and amount of ad valorem tax
to be levied of such taxing subdivision.
(b) The county clerk shall make any reductions to the ad valorem
tax to be levied, compute the tax levy rates based on the final equalized
assessed valuation, and enter such on the budget certificate before
attesting the budget, except that with regard to levies made under
K.S.A. 75-2551, and amendments thereto, such levies shall be based
upon the certified preliminary abstract of property values submitted to
the director of property valuation pursuant to K.S.A. 79-1604, and
amendments thereto. Beginning in 2022, On or before December 31
each year, a copy of all budgets for taxing subdivisions of the county,
properly attested, shall be filed with the director of accounts and
reports, along with a copy of the tax levy rate summary. All such
budget information shall be filed electronically with the director of
accounts and reports.
(c) Each fund of the adopted budget certified to the county clerk in
no event shall exceed the amount of ad valorem tax to be levied and the
proposed expenditures of such fund in the proposed budget as
originally published. The governing body of each taxing subdivision
shall not certify an amount of ad valorem taxes to be levied that is in SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 4
excess of any tax levy rate or amount limitations or any aggregate tax
levy limitations. The governing bodies, in fixing the amount may take
into consideration and make allowance for the taxes which may not be
paid, except that such allowance, however, shall not exceed by more
than 5% the percentage of delinquency for the preceding tax year.
Sec. 6. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2988 is hereby amended to read as
follows: 79-2988. (a) On or before June 15 each year, the county clerk
shall calculate the revenue neutral rate for each taxing subdivision and
include such revenue neutral rate on the notice of the estimated
assessed valuation provided to each taxing subdivision for budget
purposes, except that for tax year 2024, the deadline shall be extended
to July 1, 2024. The director of accounts and reports shall modify the
prescribed budget information form to show the revenue neutral rate.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no tax rate in
excess of the revenue neutral rate shall be levied by the governing body
of any taxing subdivision unless a resolution or ordinance has been
approved by the governing body according to the following procedure:
(1) At least 10 days in advance of the public hearing, the
governing body shall publish notice of its proposed intent to exceed the
revenue neutral rate by publishing notice:
(A) On the website of the governing body, if the governing body
maintains a website; and
(B) in a weekly or daily newspaper of the county having a general
circulation therein. The notice shall include, but not be limited to, its
proposed tax rate, its revenue neutral rate and the date, time and
location of the public hearing.
(2) On or before July 20, the governing body shall notify the
county clerk of its proposed intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate
and provide the date, time and location of the public hearing and its
proposed tax rate. For all tax years commencing after December 31,
2021, the county clerk shall notify each taxpayer with property in the
taxing subdivision, by mail directed to the taxpayer's last known
address, of the proposed intent to exceed the revenue neutral rate at
least 10 days in advance of the public hearing. Alternatively, the county
clerk may transmit the notice to the taxpayer by electronic means at
least 10 days in advance of the public hearing, if such taxpayer and
county clerk have consented in writing to service by electronic means.
The county clerk is not required to send a notice to a property owner of
property that is exempt from ad valorem taxation. The county clerk
shall consolidate the required information for all taxing subdivisions
relevant to the taxpayer's property on one notice. The notice shall be in
a format prescribed by the director of accounts and reports. The notice
shall include, but not be limited to:
(A) The following heading:
"NOTICE OF PROPOSED PROPERTY TAX INCREASE AND
PUBLIC HEARINGS
[Current year] [County name] County Revenue Neutral Rate Notice
This is NOT a bill. Do not remit payment.";
(B) the following statement:
"This notice contains estimates of the tax on your property and
proposed property tax increases. THE ACTUAL TAX ON YOUR
PROPERTY MAY INCREASE OR DECREASE FROM THESE
ESTIMATES. Governing bodies of taxing subdivisions must vote in
order to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate to increase the total property
taxes collected. Governing bodies will vote at public hearings at the
dates, times and locations listed. Taxpayers may attend and comment at
the hearings. Property tax statements will be issued after mill rates are
finalized and taxes are calculated.";
(C) the appraised value and assessed value of the taxpayer's
property for the current year and the previous year;
(D) the mill levy and amount of property tax of each taxing
subdivision on the taxpayer's property from the previous year's tax
statement in a column titled: "[Previous year] Tax";
(E) the revenue neutral rate in mills and estimated amount of SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 5
property tax for the current year of each taxing subdivision on the
taxpayer's property based on the revenue neutral rate of each taxing
subdivision in a column titled: "[Current year] Tax at Revenue Neutral
Rate";
(F) the estimated amount of property tax for the current year of
each taxing subdivision on the taxpayer's property based on either: (i)
The revenue neutral rate for a taxing subdivision that does not intend to
exceed its revenue neutral rate; or (ii) the proposed tax rate provided by
the taxing subdivision, if the taxing subdivision notified the county
clerk of its proposed intent to exceed its revenue neutral rate, and such
mill levy used in the calculation, in a column titled: "[Current year]
Maximum Proposed Tax";
(G) the difference between the amount of the current year's
maximum proposed tax and the previous year's tax, reflected in dollars
and a percentage, for each taxing subdivision in a column titled:
"[Current year] Maximum Proposed Tax Exceeding [Previous year]
Tax"; and
(H) the date, time and location of the public hearing of each taxing
subdivision that notified the county clerk of its proposed intent to
exceed its revenue neutral rate in a column titled: "Date, Time and
Location of Public Hearing"; and
(I) for each taxing subdivision public hearing listed pursuant to
subparagraph (H), the difference between the current year's maximum
tax and the estimated amount of property tax based on the revenue
neutral rate of such taxing subdivision in a column titled: "[Current
year] Maximum Tax Exceeding Tax at Revenue Neutral Rate".
The columns described in subparagraphs (D) through (G) shall
include a total of the amounts at the end of each column. For each
taxing subdivision, the notice shall include the total amount of revenue
from the property tax levy for the previous year, the proposed total
amount of revenue from the property tax levy for the current year and
the difference or change between such amounts, reflected in dollars
and a percentage. Although the state of Kansas is not a taxing
subdivision for purposes of this section, the notice shall include the
previous year's tax amount and the estimate of the tax for the current
year on the taxpayer's property based on the statutory mill levies.
(3) The public hearing to consider exceeding the revenue neutral
rate shall be held not sooner than August 20 and not later than
September 20. The governing body shall provide interested taxpayers
desiring to be heard an opportunity to present oral testimony within
reasonable time limits and without unreasonable restriction on the
number of individuals allowed to make public comment. The public
hearing may be conducted in conjunction with the proposed budget
hearing pursuant to K.S.A. 79-2929, and amendments thereto, if the
governing body otherwise complies with all requirements of this
section. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit additional
public hearings that provide additional opportunities to present
testimony or public comment prior to the public hearing required by
this section.
(4) A majority vote of the governing body, by the adoption of a
resolution or ordinance to approve exceeding the revenue neutral rate,
shall be required prior to adoption of a proposed budget that will result
in a tax rate in excess of the revenue neutral rate. Such vote of the
governing body shall be conducted at the public hearing and on the
same day as the commencement of the public hearing after the
governing body has heard from interested taxpayers and shall be a roll
call vote. If the governing body approves exceeding the revenue neutral
rate, the governing body shall not adopt a budget that results in a tax
rate in excess of its proposed tax rate as stated in the notice provided
pursuant to this section. A copy of the resolution or ordinance to
approve exceeding the revenue neutral rate and a certified copy of any
roll call vote reporting, at a minimum, the name and vote of each
member of the governing body related to exceeding the revenue neutral
rate, whether approved or not, shall be included with the adopted SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 6
budget, budget certificate and other budget forms filed with the county
clerk and the director of accounts and reports and shall be published on
the website of the department of administration.
(c) (1) Any governing body subject to the provisions of this
section that does not comply with subsection (b) shall refund to
taxpayers any property taxes over-collected based on the amount of the
levy that was in excess of the revenue neutral rate.
(2) Any taxpayer of the taxing subdivision that is the subject of
the complaint or such taxpayer's duly authorized representative may
file a complaint with the state board of tax appeals by filing a written
complaint, on a form prescribed by the board, that contains the facts
that the complaining party believes show that a governing body of a
taxing subdivision did not comply with the provisions of subsection (b)
and that a reduction or refund of taxes is appropriate. The complaining
party shall provide a copy of such complaint to the governing body of
the taxing subdivision making the levy that is the subject of the
complaint. Notwithstanding K.S.A. 74-2438a, and amendments thereto,
no filing fee shall be charged by the executive director of the state
board of tax appeals for a complaint filed pursuant to this paragraph.
The governing body of the taxing subdivision making the levy that is
the subject of the complaint shall be a party to the proceeding. Notice
of any summary proceeding or hearing shall be served upon such
governing body, the county clerk, the director of accounts and reports
and the complaining party. It shall be the duty of the governing body to
initiate the production of evidence to demonstrate, by a preponderance
of the evidence, the validity of such levy. If upon a summary
proceeding or hearing, it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of
the board that the governing body of the taxing subdivision did not
comply with subsection (b), the state board of tax appeals shall order
such governing body to refund to taxpayers the amount of property
taxes over collected or reduce the taxes levied, if uncollected. The
provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed as prohibiting any
other remedies available under the law.
(d) On and after January 1, 2022, in the event that the tax levied
by a school district pursuant to K.S.A. 72-5142, and amendments
thereto, increases the property tax revenue generated for the purpose of
calculating the revenue neutral rate from the previous tax year and such
amount of increase in revenue generated from such tax levied is the
only reason that the school district would exceed the total property tax
revenue from the prior year, the school district shall be deemed to not
have exceeded the revenue neutral rate in levying a tax rate in excess of
the revenue neutral rate to take into account the increase in revenue
from only such tax levied.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
if the governing body of a taxing subdivision must conduct a public
hearing to approve exceeding the revenue neutral rate under this
section, the governing body of the taxing subdivision shall certify, on or
before October 1, to the proper county clerk the amount of ad valorem
tax to be levied.
(2) If a governing body of a taxing subdivision did not comply
with the provisions of subsection (b) and certifies to the county clerk an
amount of ad valorem tax to be levied that would result in a tax rate in
excess of its revenue neutral rate, the county clerk shall reduce the ad
valorem tax to be levied to the amount resulting from such taxing
subdivision's revenue neutral rate.
(f) As used in this section:
(1) "Taxing subdivision" means any political subdivision of the
state that levies an ad valorem tax on property.
(2) "Revenue neutral rate" means the tax rate for the current tax
year that would generate the same property tax revenue as levied the
previous tax year using the current tax year's total assessed valuation.
To calculate the revenue neutral rate, the county clerk shall divide the
property tax revenue for such taxing subdivision levied for the previous
tax year by the total of all taxable assessed valuation in such taxing SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 7
subdivision for the current tax year, and then multiply the quotient by
1,000 to express the rate in mills. The revenue neutral rate shall be
expressed to the third decimal place.
(g) In the event that a county clerk incurred costs of printing and
postage that were not reimbursed pursuant to K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-
2989, and amendments thereto, such county clerk may seek
reimbursement from all taxing subdivisions required to send the notice.
Such costs shall be shared proportionately by all taxing subdivisions
that were included on the same notice based on the total property tax
levied by each taxing subdivision. Payment of such costs shall be due
to the county clerk by December 31.
(h) The department of administration or the director of accounts
and reports shall make copies of adopted budgets, budget certificates,
other budget documents and revenue neutral rate documents available
to the public on the department of administration's website on a
permanently accessible web page that may be accessed via a
conspicuous link to that web page placed on the front page of the
department's website. The department of administration or the director
of accounts and reports shall also make the following information for
each tax year available on such website:
(1) A list of taxing subdivisions by county;
(2) whether each taxing subdivision conducted a hearing to
consider exceeding its revenue neutral rate;
(3) the revenue neutral rate of each taxing subdivision;
(4) the tax rate resulting from the adopted budget of each taxing
subdivision; and
(5) the percent change between the revenue neutral rate and the
tax rate for each taxing subdivision.
(i) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary, in the event
any governing body does not comply with the provisions of subsection
(b) because such governing body did not intend to exceed its revenue
neutral rate but the final taxable assessed valuation of such taxing
subdivision used to calculate the actual tax levy is less than the
estimated assessed valuation used to calculate the revenue neutral rate,
such governing body shall be permitted to levy a tax rate that generates
the same amount of property tax revenue as levied the previous year or
less.
Sec. 7. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2989, as amended by section 204 of
2025 Senate Bill No. 125, is hereby amended to read as follows: 79-
2989. (a) For calendar years 2024 and, 2025 and 2026, if a county clerk
has printing or postage costs pursuant to K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2988,
and amendments thereto, the county clerk shall notify and provide
documentation of such costs to the secretary of revenue. The secretary
of revenue shall certify the amount of moneys attributable to such costs
and shall transmit a copy of such certification to the director of
accounts and reports. Upon such receipt of such certification, the
director of accounts and reports shall transfer an amount of moneys
equal to such certified amount from the state general fund to the
taxpayer notification costs fund of the department of revenue. The
secretary of revenue shall transmit a copy of each such certification to
the director of legislative research and the director of the budget.
(b) There is hereby established in the state treasury the taxpayer
notification costs fund that shall be administered by the secretary of
revenue. All expenditures from the taxpayer notification costs fund
shall be for the purpose of paying county printing and postage costs
pursuant to K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 79-2988, and amendments thereto. All
expenditures from such fund shall be made in accordance with
appropriations acts upon warrants of the director of accounts and
reports issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the secretary of
revenue or the secretary's designee. SENATE Substitute for HOUSE BILL No. 2125—page 8
Sec. 8. K.S.A. 74-2438a and K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 72-5142, 79-
1801, 79-2001, 79-2930, 79-2988 and 79-2989, as amended by section
204 of 2025 Senate Bill No. 125, are hereby repealed.
Sec. 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
I hereby certify that the above BILL originated in the HOUSE, and was
adopted by that body
HOUSE adopted
Conference Committee Report
Speaker of the House.
Chief Clerk of the House.
Passed the SENATE
as amended
SENATE adopted
Conference Committee Report
President of the Senate.
Secretary of the Senate.
APPROVED
Governor.