[Opinion] Kansas AG Says Planned Vote on Johnson County Mental Health Services Should Be Null and Void

Kansas AG says planned vote on Johnson County mental health services should be null and void

Kris Kobach appears during a news conference June 26, 2023. (Sam Bailey/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — A Kansas county is asking voters in November to renew a local public safety sales tax to fund emergency and mental health crisis services, but Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach warned the county the question could violate state law. Johnson County commissioners voted in May to approve a ballot question asking whether voters would like to renew a c…

KS AG calls JoCo public safety sales tax renewal vote 'unlawful'

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach says Johnson County’s proposed Public Safety Sales Tax renewal, which is set to come to the public for a vote this November, is “unlawful.” In an opinion released Monday, Kobach warns that the Board of County Commissioners’ resolution earlier this year setting up the vote would be voided by a court. Kobach also contends that the Johnson County commission exceeded its authority in proposing the tax renewal at a…