Legislative Update: Property Tax Refund for Disabled Veterans

This legislative update covers a single issue from this session: the ongoing effort to establish a property tax refund for disabled veterans in the state of Kansas. Portions of this summary reflect the opinion of KSDVL.

Year after year, Kansas citizens have sent honorable, hardworking Kansans to the Legislature. We at KSDVL have worked hand in hand with these legislators, monitoring committee after committee, always representing the plight of our state's disabled veterans. One quickly sees how the efforts of honorable, responsible legislators are trampled by a few legislators commonly referred to as "Leadership," the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. They alone can refuse to allow certain bills to ever reach the Governor. Now in our fifth year of this work, KSDVL has diligently pushed for a bill that benefits our state's disabled veterans. Once again, our efforts, and yours, were in vain.

This session was a continuation of last year's efforts. HB 2005 passed the House Tax Committee and was positioned for a floor vote. However, the bill was withdrawn from the calendar and rereferred back to committee. After further amendment work in March 2026, the committee again recommended the bill be passed, yet Leadership never brought it to the House floor for a vote. The House Majority Leader controls which bills come "above the line" for floor consideration, and the House Speaker directs overall priorities. Despite the committee's repeated recommendations, the bill was never allowed to advance.

For years, many of these same legislative leaders have been vocal proponents of relief for disabled veterans. Yet when it matters, behind closed doors and in backroom negotiations, legislation that would meaningfully benefit the lives of disabled veterans is consistently ignored by Leadership.

Many of the Leadership names referenced in our updates over the past five years remain the same. If the current legislative Leadership is unable to enact change, it is time to ask your home representatives to elect new Leadership that will follow the majority vote of our honorable body of elected Kansas representatives and senators.

The only path forward suggested by this organization is straightforward: remember to vote for legislators who represent you.

If you have any questions, or would like information on how your specific legislator has acted as a proponent or opponent of your bill, currently or historically, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here for you, the unintended consequence of war: the Kansas disabled veteran.

We will see you next session.