Kansas Can’t Afford Another Missed Opportunity

Originally posted to Kansas Policy Institute.

Kansas has potential — everyone knows it. Strong communities, a central location, and good, hard-working people.

However, when it comes to economic growth, job creation, and opportunities, the state is improving but there’s more work to do. And now that the 2025 legislative session is over, the real question is: Did lawmakers do enough to help Kansas grow — or did they play it too safe again?

Let’s start with what’s at stake.

In the past year, Kansas added only 900 net new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s nearly flat in a state with a workforce of 1.6 million. The unemployment rate rose to 3.8%, up from 3.3% the previous year. It’s still below the national average, but it’s trending in the wrong direction, highlighting just how sluggish the labor market has become.

Additionally, Kansas’s economy grew by only 1.0% in 2024, compared to the national economy’s 2.8% growth, as reported in the latest GDP data. Personal income rose 4.6% in the fourth quarter — but that barely keeps up with inflation, and it doesn’t help much when job growth is this weak.

So what did lawmakers do about it this year?

They passed some good bills. But not nearly enough.

To their credit, the Kansas Legislature overrode the governor’s veto of Senate Bill 269, a major step toward continued tax reform. The bill establishes a responsible framework to lower the state income tax to a flat 4%, provided certain conditions are met, including strong revenue growth and a healthy Budget Stabilization Fund. It’s a brilliant idea: tying tax cuts to budget discipline is a far better approach than tax giveaways based on guesses.

Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the bill, calling it risky. But the Legislature did the right thing by overriding her. Kansans deserve a flatter, simpler, more competitive tax code — and SB 269 gets us one step closer.

But here’s the problem: lawmakers stopped short of what’s needed.

There was no serious push for a universal school choice program — not even a modest Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) or a tax credit program like our southern neighbors. At a time when other states are giving parents more control over their children’s education, Kansas is standing still. Families in Wichita, Topeka, Garden City, and across the Sunflower State are still confined to government-assigned schools, regardless of their performance or suitability.

There was no real action to limit government spending, despite spending having grown far faster than Kansans’ ability to pay for it for years. Over the last decade, Kansas has spent approximately $20 billion more in state funds than it would have if it had maintained growth in line with population plus inflation. That’s money that could’ve been used for deeper tax cuts or to pay down debt (we’re looking at your state pension systems).

What the Legislature did pass was a mix of narrow reforms and targeted incentives. A few examples:

• SB 98 gives a 20-year sales tax exemption to data centers that invest $250 million or more. It may attract some large employers, but it is a costly incentive package that offers no benefit to most small businesses or local entrepreneurs trying to compete at a high cost to taxpayers. 
  
  
• HB 2125 reauthorized the 20-mill statewide school property tax levy, maintaining the existing formula without addressing the urgent need for school finance reform. 
  
  
• Several bills updated criminal statutes, AI regulations, and allowed some counties to request voter approval for local sales tax increases. 
  
  

These don’t address the real issues holding back Kansas: a tax system that discourages work and investment, runaway spending, and an education system that lacks competition.

If Kansas is serious about competing — not just with neighboring states like Missouri and Oklahoma, but with places like Florida, Texas, and Arizona — then lawmakers need to think bigger and act bolder.

That means:

• Flattening and reducing the income tax to zero quickly. 
  
  
• Limiting budget growth through a strong spending cap tied to population plus inflation. 
  
  
• Expanding universal school choice, so parents, not the state, decide where kids go to school.
   
• Ending corporate welfare, including long-term tax breaks that only benefit a few. 
  
  
• Cutting red tape to make it easier to start and grow a business anywhere in the state. 
  
  

The truth is, Kansas has the people, the values, and the work ethic to succeed. However, too many in Topeka aren’t taking bold action. Good intentions aren’t enough. Kansans need results. The override of SB 269 was a good start. But unless lawmakers take that momentum and run with it, it will go to waste.

There’s too much at stake to let another session come and go without real reform.