Judge: Johnson County exceeded authority with proposed public safety tax renewal

Johnson County not allowed to ask voters for public safety sales tax renewal, judge rules

A Kansas judge sided with Attorney General Kris Kobach that state law does not allow the quarter-cent public safety sales tax to be extended for the uses Johnson County commissioners wanted. The county will formally withdraw their resolution to put the question on the March ballot.

Judge: Johnson County exceeded authority with proposed public safety tax renewal

A Kansas judge ruled Johnson County exceeded its authority by proposing a sales tax renewal for programs beyond law enforcement facilities.

Sales tax proposal by Johnson County Commission illegal, judge rules

Johnson County commissioners’ plan to seek public approval for an extension of a public safety sales tax next March is flatly illegal, a judge has ruled. The existing quarter-cent sales tax was authorized by a 2016 law expressly for the construction of a courthouse and medical examiner’s office, and must be used for “physical structures that directly support law enforcement,” Shawnee County District Judge Jay Befort ruled Tuesday in Topeka. The …

Judge denies JoCo's plan to put public safety sales tax to vote

Johnson County will not put a proposed extension of a quarter-cent public safety sales tax before voters this March after all, now that a judge has ruled against the move. Judge Jay Befort of the Third District Court in Topeka dealt the setback to the county commission in a ruling Tuesday, siding with state Attorney General Kris Kobach that a state law does not allow the tax to be extended for uses the county commission had in mind. Voters origi…

UPDATED: Judge upholds Kobach opinion opposing JoCo sales tax renewal

(Updated to include comments from attorney general, county commission chair and to reflect county commission action) A Shawnee County judge on Tuesday upheld an attorney general's opinion saying that Johnson County exceeded its authority to ask voters to renew a public safety sales tax to fund mental health and emergency medical services. District Judge Jay Befort sided with Attorney General Kris Kobach that the county exceeded its authority whe…