The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Kansas requires electric public utilities to pay landowner attorney fees when appeal results in higher award
Last action · April 10, 2026: Died in Committee
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What This Bill Proposed
Electric public utilities in Kansas must now pay a landowner's attorney fees if either party appeals a court-appointed appraiser's award and the final jury or master verdict exceeds that initial award.
Shifts legal cost burdens from landowners to electric utilities in successful appeals involving utility land acquisitions.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
electric public utilities
Electric public utilities are required to pay landowner attorney fees as court costs when an appeal results in a verdict higher than the initial appraisers' award.
landowners
Landowners involved in eminent domain appeals against electric utilities are entitled to have their attorney fees paid by the utility if the final verdict exceeds the appraisers' award.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does an electric public utility have to pay a landowner's attorney fees under this bill?
Does this requirement apply to all types of condemnations?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
5 actions- Apr 10, 2026SenateDied in Committee
- Jan 30, 2025SenateHearing: Thursday, January 30, 2025, 10:30 AM — Room 346-S
- Jan 29, 2025SenateHearing: Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 10:30 AM — Room 346-S
- Jan 23, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Senate Committee on Judiciary
- Jan 22, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory vs. Discretionary Attorney Fees
The bill shifts the award of attorney fees from discretionary ('may allow') to mandatory ('shall allow') specifically when the condemner is an electric public utility.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.kslegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 45)
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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