The Senate Committee on Taxation considered Senate Bill 73, which would change several calendar deadlines tied to property-tax administration: it would require county treasurers to mail property tax statements by Dec. 1 instead of Dec. 15, move the deadline for county clerks to certify abstracts of value, levies and taxes to the director of property valuation from Nov. 15 to Nov. 1, and allow county clerks to rely on a taxing subdivision's previous year's budget and levy if that subdivision fails to file its budget by 5 p.m. on Oct. 1.

Sponsor Senator Tim Blue said the bill grew from practical problems in his county, where tax statements were mailed Dec. 15 and some taxpayers did not receive them before the Dec. 20 payment due date. "The issue is the deadline is December 15, and they're due 5 days later. That just doesn't make sense," Blue said, describing the legislative effort as an attempt to move multiple calendar pieces earlier so tax statements reach taxpayers sooner.

Neutral testimony and questions focused on operational trade-offs and downstream timing effects. Jay Hall of the Kansas Association of Counties (providing neutral testimony on behalf of KAC) explained how small taxing units and cross-jurisdiction valuation timing can delay the process: "It's our smaller entities, those cemetery districts, the townships, the library districts ... it's generally one person" and those entities sometimes do not submit budgets on time, he said. Hall added that valuations and appeals in one county can hold up accurate statements in an adjacent county when a district spans county lines.

Bill mechanics and concerns: Committee staff summarized statutory changes the bill would amend, citing KSA 79-2001 (county treasurer mailing deadlines), KSA 79-18o6 (certification of abstracts and levies) and KSA 79-29-30 (budget filing deadlines), as read into the record. Senator Blue and staff acknowledged the change touches many interlocking deadlines; staff advised the committee that shifting one date requires adjusting other calendar steps and that clerks and treasurers have expressed concerns about missing pieces of the process.

Several senators and witnesses discussed the bill's "hammer" provision that would require a county clerk to use the previous year's budget if a taxing subdivision misses the Oct. 1 deadline and noted the draft contains no explicit exceptions. "This particular provision does not provide for exceptions," staff said when asked whether late materials could be accommodated; the response left open that local clerks may need to decide how to proceed if late information arrives.

Next steps and context: witnesses and the sponsor suggested the committee may want to consider amendments and examine the entire statutory calendar to avoid unintended consequences. The Kansas Association of Counties recommended further study of the full schedule of interdependent deadlines before final action. The committee closed the SB 73 hearing with no final votes taken and noted it will work bills in a future session.