Amendment Language & Legislative Mechanics
What a repeal resolution actually looks like, and how it moves through the Legislature
This is an illustrative educational template, not an actual bill. Nothing on this page is before the Kansas Legislature. It exists to make the process described in The Path to Repeal concrete, based on the actual form used in recent Kansas and comparable-state resolutions.
What a Constitutional Amendment Resolution Contains
A typical structure includes:
- A resolving clause submitting the proposition to Kansas voters at a specified election, contingent on the required two-thirds vote of each chamber.
- The amendatory text itself, which would need to strike or modify the existing "uniform and equal basis of valuation and rate of taxation" language in Article 11, Section 1, and could specify an effective date and any transition provisions for existing levies, bonded debt obligations, and outstanding tax abatements.
- A companion statutory bill, introduced separately (since ordinary statutes, unlike constitutional amendments, do require the Governor's signature), that would specify the replacement revenue mechanism — this is where a sales tax rate, a dedicated fund, or a phased exemption schedule would actually be defined in law.
- A ballot title and explanatory statement, drafted by the legislature, describing the amendment for voters. Kansas's recent constitutional resolutions (e.g., SCR 1616, HCR 5008) show that this framing is often contested, and clear, neutral ballot language has been a recurring point of dispute in other states' repeal debates — Florida's 2026 measure needed a special exception to the state's usual 75-word ballot summary limit, reflecting how much explanation these measures typically require.
Legislative Mechanics Worth Understanding
- A resolution is typically assigned to a tax-focused committee (in recent sessions, the House Committee on Taxation or Senate Committee on Assessment and Taxation) for a hearing, where supporters and opponents testify before any floor vote.
- Passing one chamber is not enough — the same resolution (or an amended version subject to concurrence) must pass both chambers by the two-thirds threshold in the same legislative session. Several recent Kansas attempts (SCR 1603, SCR 1616, HCR 5008) passed one chamber but failed in the other, meaning the process restarts in a future session.
- Because Kansas has no citizen initiative process, a resolution can only reach the ballot through the legislature itself — there is no signature-gathering or petition-based path to a vote, unlike in states that allow citizen initiatives.
The Process, Visually
(House or Senate)
(2/3 required)
(2/3 required)
(if approved)
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This guide reflects publicly available legislative and government records as of September 2026. Bill status, vote counts, and program details should be verified against current session records before republishing or citing specific figures. See Sources for citations.