TOPEKA — The Kansas House shot down a property tax relief plan in a game of back and forth with the Senate, which defeated the resolution on Wednesday but revived it Thursday for the House’s consideration.

House Concurrent Resolution 5011 , which requires support from two-thirds of both chambers and voter approval, would cap annual increases to commercial and residential property appraisals at 4%. However, while the valuation would remain lower, mill levies would continue to increase. The resolution is estimated to give about $1 billion in state property tax cuts over five years, but critics argue that taxpayers aren’t likely to see benefits.

The House rejected the resolution in an 88-37 vote but declined a procedural move that could have sent it back to negotiations or killed it.

Under the proposal, mill levy rates wouldn’t raise as much money as they normally would, said Rep. Adam Smith, a Weskan Republican who presented the resolution on the House floor.

“For local governments, they would also be seeing that loss in valuation,” he said.

Rep. Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat, said people would end up paying different rates on similar properties.

“We are taking a system that’s based on fairness, on market value, treating everybody at market value, and … creating really huge discrepancies,” Sawyer said. “We’re screwing up our system, is what it does.”

The Senate fell one vote shy of the necessary two-thirds support to pass the resolution after a debate Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Topeka Sen. Brenda Dietrich, one of the five Republicans who had joined Democrats to defeat the measure, made a motion to reconsider and flipped her vote.

Dietrich said she voted to support similar proposals dealing with property tax valuations earlier this session.

“I have heard from some of my constituents about that lack of consistency, and for me, I think that has caused me to reflect on my actions,” Dietrich said.

The Senate shipped the resolution to the House on a 27-13 vote.

Constitutional amendments require support from two-thirds of each chamber — 27 in the 40-member Senate and 84 in the 125-member House — and voter approval. If the House were to reconsider and approve the resolution, a roughly 325-word question would appear on voters’ ballots in a special election on Aug. 4, 2026.

The state’s school general fund and state building fund benefit from property taxes and would lose more than $200 million combined each year under the proposal. The school fund would lose an estimated $200 million in its first year, increasing to $260 million in the fourth year. The state building fund would lose about $19 million in its first year, increasing to about $25 million lost in its fourth year. Over five years, the estimated effect would have been more than $1 billion in lost tax revenue.

Rep. Pat Proctor, a Leavenworth Republican, called property tax “a racket” in an impassioned speech supporting the resolution. He said he never thought the day would come when he could vote to control appraisals.

“I want to pinch myself,” he said. “I think I’m dreaming.”

Proctor blamed skyrocketing property values for his community’s declining population.

“We cannot continue to fund our government on the backs of homeowners,” Proctor said. “We’re going to break their backs.”

Proctor’s speech brought Rep. Tim Johnson, a Basehor Republican, to the front of the chamber to deliver a one-word response.

“Aaaaaaamen!” Johnson said.