Kansas
Kansas Democratic senator pitches reform bill anchored by robust property tax relief • Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Outgoing state Sen. Tom Holland recommended Wednesday ahead of a special session of the Kansas Legislature a state tax reform bill highlighted by residential, commercial and agricultural property tax relief rather than offering a package emphasizing state income tax rate cuts.
Holland, a Baldwin City Democrat who decided not to seek reelection after 22 years in the Legislature, said during a news conference at the Capitol that he would urge lawmakers to increase state exemptions in all property tax classes and trim the state property tax mill levy for public schools. With inclusion of property tax relief for veterans, Holland’s approach would deliver nearly $200 million annually in property tax reductions.
“I am here to announce a tax proposal for next week’s special session that provides all Kansans with meaningful, significant tax relief that is fiscally sustainable,” Holland said. “Make no mistake, the number one hated tax in any state government or local government scheme is property tax.”
He referred to his strategy as the “Statehouse Kumbaya Tax Plan,” because contents were drawn from legislation receiving bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Overall, he said, his bill would offer an average $361 million annual reduction in state tax revenue through 2028. It would leave an estimated $600 million in the state treasury after four years, but that would be a significant reduction from the current surplus of $1.9 billion.
Under Holland’s bill, the state would adopt an income tax exemption on Social Security benefits that would cost the state $152 million in the first year by level off to about $125 million annually going forward. He didn’t propose a broad reduction in income tax rates, arguing it was impossible to make progress on property taxes if the Republican-led Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly devoted too much capital to lowering income taxes.
GOP legislative leaders and Kelly have tangled for the past two years on what would be an appropriate reduction in state income taxes, given the constitutional imperative to balance the state budget. GOP lawmakers say Kansas had sufficient cash reserves to make big income tax changes, especially for benefit of wealthy Kansans. Kelly has sought modest reductions that lower the risk of a budget quagmire over the next five years.
“I, like most legislators, have heard from many of my constituents regarding their tax burden,” Holland said. “Kansas property owners will be extremely pleased to hear that this plan provides approximately $1 billion, with a ‘b,’ in property tax relief over five years.”
Holland’s plan would nearly triple the state’s residential property tax exemption to $125,000 and shrink the state property tax mill levy for public schools from 20 mills to 18 mills. He said his bill would obligate state government to make up for reductions in property tax revenue for K-12 schools so that burden wouldn’t shift to local property taxpayers.
He said the interest among Kansas politicians in rolling back state income tax rates was problematic because legislation sent to the governor would torpedo the state budget. Rank-and-file legislators understand Kelly vetoed three tax bills in the 2024 legislative session because they weren’t sustainable, he said.
Grace Hoge, a spokeswoman for Kelly, said she appreciated Holland’s inclusion of significant property tax relief in his proposal.
“Kansans have been asking for property tax relief for months,” Hoge said. “There continues to be productive conversations with legislative leaders on responsible tax relief for all Kansans that does not threaten the state’s long-term fiscal stability.”
Members of the House and Senate expect to convene Monday for committee meetings dedicated to sorting through options for a new tax bill. Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, said Republican legislators would develop a fresh bill that made a priority of modifying income taxes.
In addition, both chambers plan to work during the special session on a bill outlining economic development incentives that might attract the Kansas City Chiefs or Kansas City Royals to new stadiums built in Kansas.
While there has been considerable legislative interest in making a deal on tax reform, the idea of issuing bonds for construction of professional sports stadiums in Wyandottee or Johnson counties hadn’t been vetted by legislators and could run into dedicated opposition.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A man connected to a shootout that injured two people following a high school basketball game at North Kansas City High School on March 2, 2024, was sentenced to 18 years in prison Friday.
Michael Smallwood pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree assault, one count of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of fourth-degree assault back in March.
Smallwood will serve six years for the first count of second-degree assault, seven years for the second count of second-degree assault, four years on the unlawful use of a weapon charge and one year on the charge of fourth-degree assault.
The sentences are set to be served consecutively.
While the prosecutors said they plan to ask the judge for a 19-year prison sentence for Smallwood in the plea agreement entered in March, the agreement allowed Smallwood and his attorneys to argue for a lesser sentence.
“I was fired at and I shot back, understanding that it was reckless for me to do that in a crowd of people,” Michael Smallwood wrote in the plea agreement.
Michael and his younger brother, Lavon’Dre Smallwood, were both originally charged with armed criminal action and two counts of unlawful use of a weapon in connection with the shootout.
Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said the shooting started after a dispute between two groups of young men who were leaving a Missouri Class 6, District 8 basketball game between Staley and North Kansas City.
KSHB 41 I-Team’s Caitlin Knute obtained surveillance video of the shootout. You can watch her report below.
KSHB 41 I-Team obtains video showing shooting outside North Kansas City High School
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If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A principal released and grades allegedly changed to meet graduation requirements: Wichita Southeast High School is in the spotlight at the state level as Kansas lawmakers address claims of grade tampering. The situation has also prompted a debate on how best to measure school success.
Following the report from Kansas’s largest school district, the state’s school finance task force dove into the issue.
“They were really promoting the idea that their graduation rates had improved by 5%. And then I go and look online to pull up that particular school’s results and they’re almost twice as bad as our state’s for the lowest category,” said Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, of Southeast High School.
The questioning follows Wichita Public Schools’ celebration of district-wide improvements for graduation rates, reporting the more-than 5% jump from 2023 to 2024. But with that celebration comes the investigation into grade tampering at Wichita Southeast.
In a statement Wednesday, Wichita Public Schools confirmed “less than 10 students’ records were changed and there is no indication of data inaccuracies in past years.”
The acknowledgement of grade tampering is enough to get Rep. Williams to question the use of graduation rates to measure student success.
“Graduation rates are not correlated at all. I mean, if we want to babysit, that’s one thing. We want to have a safe place for them, that’s one thing, but that doesn’t mean you’re learning anything,” she said.
Not everyone feels the same.
“I think when you look at any industry, including the legislature, there are bad actors that you have to do things around. That doesn’t mean you should throw out that metric altogether,” said Kansas State Department of Education Deputy Commissioner Dr. Frank Harwood.
Dr. Harwood said while graduation rates are the best indicator of economic drivers, there are other things to consider.
“We could talk to business and industry about what those things are,” he said. “When we have those conversations, it’s actually about character development much more so than many other things, so I mean if we’re going to talk about some of those things, employers are looking at character development much more than they’re looking at state assessment scores.”
Ultimately, lawmakers say that if a diploma is going to be used to measure success, then they need to define what graduation really means.
“I’m hearing some employers say for some reason, they’re getting the really great students coming out, and then I’m getting those that say, ‘Wow, they really aren’t coming out knowing or being able to do much,’” said Kansas Sen. Renee Erickson, R-Wichita.
Kansas lawmakers haven’t decided on how best to measure student and school district success, or whether they’ll change current practices.
Copyright 2025 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A multi-vehicle crash in Kansas City Thursday morning resulted in minor injuries for six people.
The Kansas City Fire Department said it happened on Linwood Boulevard in the area of Bruce R. Watkins Drive.
The crash occurred just after 8 a.m. and resulted in six people being transported for evaluation, with four of those patients being children, KCTV said.
No serious injuries were reported.
KCFD said the scene has been cleared and the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department is investigating the crash.
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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