The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Kansas Bill Establishes State Regulation, County Veto, and Decommissioning Rules for Industrial Wind, Solar, and Battery Facilities
Last action · April 10, 2026: Died in Committee
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
AN ACT concerning energy; relating to certain electric generation and energy storage facilities; establishing requirements for the development, construction, modification, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of industrial wind and solar energy conversion systems and industrial battery energy storage systems; authorizing the board of county commissioners of a county to permit or deny the construction of such industrial energy facilities; establishing a protest petition and election process to contest such county action; providing jurisdiction to the state corporation commission to control and permit the development, construction, modification, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of such facilities; requiring the commission to approve and issue a permit prior to the new construction or expansion of any such facility; requiring owners of existing industrial energy facilities to register with the commission; establishing minimum setback distances for such facilities; requiring the commission to adopt a code of conduct and agricultural mitigation protocols; requiring a facility owner to establish and maintain a decommission plan and provide adequate financial assurance for the decommissioning; authorizing the commission to issue certain orders and impose civil penalties for violations; authorizing the commission to adopt rules and regulations.
The measure shifts oversight of large-scale renewable energy projects by granting local voters county-level veto power and imposing statewide mandatory setbacks, registration fees, and civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation for facility owners.
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.
Industrial energy facility owners
Must obtain state permits, register existing sites, adhere to strict setback rules and agricultural protocols, maintain financial assurance for decommissioning, and face potential civil penalties up to $10,000 per violation.
Board of county commissioners
Authorized to permit or deny the construction of industrial energy facilities by resolution and subject county decisions to local petition and referendum elections.
Qualified electors of Kansas counties
Empowered to file protest petitions and vote in countywide elections to permit or ban industrial energy facilities.
Landowners adjacent to industrial energy facilities
Protected by mandatory minimum setback distances from property boundaries, nonparticipating parcels, and dwellings, and entitled to compensation for land and agricultural damages.
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
Can county voters block an industrial wind or solar farm from being built?
What happens when an industrial energy facility stops producing electricity?
What are the minimum distance requirements between wind turbines and neighboring homes?
Are existing wind and solar facilities required to get a state permit?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
6 actions- Apr 10, 2026SenateDied in Committee
- Feb 24, 2026SenateWithdrawn from Senate Committee on Utilities; Rereferred to Senate Committee on Utilities
- Feb 19, 2026SenateWithdrawn from Senate Committee on Ways and Means; Referred to Senate Committee on Ways and Means
- Feb 3, 2026SenateHearing: Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 1:30 PM — Room 548-S — CANCELED
- Jan 29, 2026SenateCommitteeReferred to Senate Committee on Utilities
- Jan 28, 2026SenateIntroducedIntroduced
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.
Centralization of Renewable Energy Oversight
The bill shifts significant regulatory authority from purely local zoning to a dual structure combining state-level State Corporation Commission oversight with local county veto and election mechanisms.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.kslegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment15Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools