Topeka ? A legislative committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would give voters an opportunity to decide whether a local governing body could increase property taxes by more than the rate of inflation.

The 13-7 vote by the House Taxation Committee sent the measure to the full House for consideration.

The bill recommended by the committee was much different than what was initially proposed.

Originally, House Bill 2630 would have required an election if a governing body wanted to collect more in tax revenue than the previous year.

But the bill was amended to allow a protest petition if the governing body proposed a tax increase more than the Consumer Price Index. If 5 percent of qualified voters signed a petition to protest the increase, then an election would have to be held on the issue.

State Rep. Jeff King, R-Independence, said his amendment was an attempt to offer a compromise that would give taxpayers a right to protest tax increases, while not usurping the role of local governments.

State Rep. Steve Brunk, R-Bel Aire, who authored the original bill, said he was glad to see the committee advance the measure, but was opposed to the changes.

“It makes it more complicated,” Brunk said. “The whole point was to keep it simple,” he said.