Bill to retroactively approve Finney County sales tax passes out of committee

A bill that will determine whether Finney County can continue to collect a sales tax meant to fund long-awaited upcoming capital projects passed out of committee Thursday with a key amendment: the sales tax, once lumped together with four counties’ requests for sales tax authorities, will now be considered alone.

House Bill 2033, which passed the House by a wide margin last month, originally included requests that the Legislature authorize votes for potential sales taxes in Thomas, Russell, Jackson, Dickinson and Finney counties. Finney stood out in the group — unlike the other four counties, which are requesting state authorization before holding a public vote, per state law, Finney County didn’t seek legislative approval until after voters passed the tax in November 2017 and it took effect in April 2018.
The bill was also amended to include a course of action for cities or counties that may repeat Finney County’s errors in the future. If the bill is approved, the Kansas Department of Revenue director of taxation must confirm that an entity has completed all necessary sales tax authorization requirements before it may collect on the tax. If the director doesn’t discover an unmet requirement until after tax collection has begun, “collections would cease until such error has been remedied,” according to a supplemental note on the amended bill.