Lawmakers have gaveled in and have started discussions for the veto session.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed over 20 bills either during the session or after the regular session ended late last month. The budget was not on that list, although the governor redlined several items as part of her line-item veto authority and was sharply critical of lawmakers for crafting a “bad bill that went through a bad process.”
On KVOE’s Newsmaker segment Thursday, 17th District Senator Mike Argabright of Olpe says the overall budget didn’t have everything he wanted, but he still voted in favor.
Having said that, Argabright echoes concerns from other lawmakers — and from Kelly — when it comes to government spending trends.
One of several items that was vetoed was Senate Substitute for House Bill 2745, a property tax relief bill allowing for a petition process to overturn local tax increases above 3 percent of the prior year. The governor then issued her own proposal. Argabright doesn’t expect the governor’s full proposal to go forward, although he says there were some components he likes. He reminds residents there aren’t a lot of things lawmakers can do to impact property taxes at the state level.
It was hard for lawmakers in the House and Senate to come up with a plan they could agree to and send to the governor.
Looking back at the regular session, Argabright says he is proud of a bill that put guardrails on pharmacy benefit managers as a way to lower prescription costs for consumers. He also supported the basic concept of a “bell to bell” cell phone ban in schools, but he says several adjustments and amendments were unnecessary.
The veto session will likely continue through Friday and may push into Saturday before lawmakers adjourn.
6:10 am Thursday: Governor signs budget, vetoes property tax plan shortly before veto session starts Thursday
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed the state budget proposal from lawmakers. That doesn’t mean she likes it.
House Bill 2513 sets funding amounts for fiscal years 2026-29. Governor Kelly criticized lawmakers for cutting money for mental health services in schools, underfunding special education, cutting core services and what the governor has categorized as unfair pay raises for lawmakers and legislative staffers versus certain state employees.
Kelly also faulted lawmakers for ignoring her proposal, which she says would have offered a structurally sound document, and for passing a budget before the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group issues its April update.
With those thoughts in mind, Kelly says she signed the budget because the state has had to take on additional costs normally handled by the federal government until passage of the One Big Beautiful reconciliation bill last summer.
The governor signed the overall document, but she had several line-item vetoes before adding her signature. She also vetoed Senate Substitute for House Bill 2745, the legislative compromise bill on property tax relief allowing for a petition process to overturn local tax increases above 3 percent of the prior year. Kelly has announced her own property tax relief plan, building on Democrat gubernatorial candidate Ethan Corson’s plan to give $250 to vehicle owners when they register said vehicles and would create a $60 million pool, increasing at 2 percent a year, so cities and counties that keep property tax increases below 3 percent can claim part of that pooled money. Another component would be to double the 20-mill property tax exemption for home values from $75,000 to $150,000.
The budget signature and the property tax plan veto — one of 15 different vetoes announced by the governor — came on the day before lawmakers return to Topeka for the veto session Thursday through possibly Saturday. 17th District Senator Mike Argabright of Olpe joins KVOE’s Newsmaker segment for his viewpoints on the veto session.
