During the 2025 Kansas legislative session, we are providing Johnson County lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state capitol.
The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker. The topics are of the lawmakers’ choosing and are not fact-checked.
Below is a submission from Democratic Rep. Rui Xu, who represents Kansas House District 25, covering the northeastern corner of Johnson County.
The Post also extended invitations to submit Capitol Updates this week to Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater of Overland Park and Republican Rep. Bill Sutton of Gardner.
Across Kansas, families are struggling to find housing that fits both their needs and their budgets.
It’s a challenge I hear about constantly — from parents whose grown children can’t afford to move out, to employers, like those tied to the upcoming Panasonic plant, who can’t fill jobs because their workers can’t find a place to live nearby.
Even rising property taxes are tied to this issue: when housing demand far outpaces supply, especially here in northeast Johnson County, prices — and tax burdens — go up.
This isn’t just a big-city problem. It’s affecting small towns, rural counties and suburbs alike. Whether the issue is a lack of new construction, aging housing stock or rising prices, the result is the same: Kansans are being squeezed out of the housing market.
That’s why it’s so frustrating that the Kansas Legislature failed to treat this issue with the urgency it deserves. In fact, instead of expanding our housing efforts, we moved in the opposite direction.
This year, the Kansas House voted to completely eliminate one of the state’s only housing programs designed to support local development. The Senate kept the program in place — but only by imposing a strict cap, limiting the flexibility and reach that communities across Kansas have come to rely on.
We can, and must, do better.
Housing isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an economic development issue. It’s a workforce issue. It’s a quality of life issue. If we want young families to stay in Kansas, if we want businesses to grow, and if we want our communities to remain vibrant and competitive, then we need real state-level support for housing.
That’s why, as soon as the Legislature adjourns on Saturday, I’ll be formally requesting a stand-alone interim committee to study housing supply solutions. And much like the housing crisis itself, this request is both bipartisan and bicameral. This issue is simply too important to ignore.
The Legislature had an opportunity this year to invest in our future. Instead, we pulled back. Next session, I hope we can change course — because Kansas families, workers and communities deserve better.
