The 2025 Kansas Legislative session kicked off this week.

Kansas Farm Bureau’s legislative priorities entering the 2025 session include water, taxes and energy.

• Advocate for protecting the integrity and core principles of the Kansas Water Appropriation Act and the Groundwater Management Act as the state seeks to meet its water goals. Additionally, we support funding for the Kansas Water Plan through the state’s general fund.
• Steadfastly advocate for the constitutionally required use-value appraisal system that accurately and appropriately values agricultural lands and provides stable tax revenues to local units of government. Agricultural operations are businesses and as such should receive fair and equal tax treatment as it pertains to sales tax exemptions. As tax relief is discussed in the statehouse, we will advocate for broad-based property tax relief that benefits all Kansans.
• Continue to fight for private property rights, especially as pressure on landowners increases because of rising demand for renewable energy and electric transmission lines. Our policy supports eminent domain reform regarding energy generation and transmission lines, just compensation for impacted landowners and for landowners’ voices to be heard earlier in the transmission line siting process. In addition, our policy supports the establishment of codes of conduct guiding energy companies’ interactions with landowners in an array of projects.

Kansas Farm Bureau’s mission is to be the Voice of Agriculture to the legislature, Congress and the general public. They will educate when needed, protect when challenged and fight for our members to strengthen the lives of rural Americans and to build strong, prosperous agricultural communities.