Topeka ? Kansas senators have passed a bill to accelerate a cap on city and county property tax increases.

The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal reports that the Senate approved the bill with a 24-16 vote Tuesday.

The bill moves up the implementation of the property tax lid from 2018 to 2017. The lid was placed into law last year and requires voters to approve property tax increases above the rate of inflation.

Debate continued for more than four hours as lawmakers went through amendments seeking exemptions to the bill’s requirements.

The legislation already provided some exemptions that wouldn’t trigger the cap, such as construction of new buildings, increases in personal property valuation and property that has changed use. Federal mandates, court judgments and bond and interest payments also wouldn’t trigger the lid.

Senators argued over a an amendment that would exempt the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility from Manhattan and Riley County’s property tax lid. Sen. Tom Hawk, D-Manhattan proposed the amendment, pointing to the facility’s importance to the state and the additional business it’s expected to attract to the area.

Sen. Jeff Melcher, R-Leawood, said spoke in opposition to the amendment, saying lawmakers are potentially afraid of taxpayers and don’t trust their decisions.

Hawk withdrew his amendment. A similar amendment he introduced later in the debate to address objections about uniformity failed with an 11-24 vote.

With a 22-17 vote, Senators adopted an amendment proposed by Sen. Carolyn McGinn, R-Sedgwick, to exempt emergency services spending from the lid.

An amendment proposed by Sen. Michael O’Donnell, R-Wichita, to cap increases in state spending at inflation was challenged and found to be out of order.