Court Opinion

ID: 9565170
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 19:16:16.873484+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:26.532352
License: Public Domain

Lockett, J.,
concurring: I agree with Justice Herd that it is the duty of the Supreme Court to say what the law is. We cannot delegate the responsibility or the authority to determine if a certain statute creating a tax exemption has met the four-pronged test for constitutionality. It is within the power of the courts, not *600the legislature, to set the standard for judicial determination of the constitutionality of a statute. For a legislature to have and exercise such power negates the constitutional power of judicial review.
Justice Herd correctly states that the Kansas Constitution provides for a uniform and equal method of assessment and taxation of all property, a vast difference from that allowed under the United States Constitution. The Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution permits classification while the uniform and equal clause of the Kansas Constitution does not!
Unfortunately, through the widespread use of principles of construction by this court and the legislature’s attempts to circumvent the restrictions of the “uniform and equal clause,” the clear intent of the constitution has been made ambiguous. Legislative enactments and decisional leapfrogging by this court have reached a point where the words of the constitution have been ignored and rendered meaningless.
The legislative acts and court decisions have formulated new exceptions to the “uniform and equal clause.” Every statement by the legislature and the court has become the basis for a wholly new situation designed to be more adaptable to changing times and requirements of a modern society facing new challenges. Intentional destruction of the restrictions contained in our constitution has occurred. Fortunately, there has been no erosion by the legislature of the rights guaranteed to the people of this state by the United States Constitution or this court.
This is not the time to abandon the course that has been set and return to the restrictions of our written constitution. The legislature must first be made aware that the court can no longer follow the rule of expediency and continue to be a co-partner in ignoring the clear statement of our constitution. Should the legislature fail to act within a reasonable time after receiving this warning, then the court must act and no longer ignore our constitution’s restrictions.