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HB 2108

Relating to effectively using instructional time in grades K-12; prescribing an effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Boomer Wright

Requires KCC, with Agriculture Dept, to adopt a Code of Conduct and Agricultural Impact Mitigation Protocol to protect landowners and farms from large energy facilities.

In committee upon adjournment.
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Bill Summary · HB 2108

Summary — HB 2108 (introduced Jan. 27, 2025)

Title: Require the State Corporation Commission to establish and enforce a code of conduct and agricultural mitigation protocol for development, operation and decommissioning of certain large energy facilities.

Purpose / Intent

To require the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), in consultation with the Department of Agriculture, to adopt and enforce a standardized code of conduct and Agricultural Impact Mitigation Protocol for siting, building, operating and decommissioning large energy facilities in rural areas — with the goal of protecting landowners, agricultural operations and local communities.

Key definitions (selected)

  • Large energy facility: commercial battery energy storage systems; commercial solar energy conversion systems; electric transmission lines; wind energy conversion systems.
  • Commercial battery/solar threshold: systems able to store or generate 1 megawatt (or more) over a one‑hour duration (for batteries) or with total rated generation capacity ≥ 1 MW (for solar).
  • Rural area: any area located one mile or more outside municipal limits or in areas with housing density below 3 dwelling units per acre.

Major provisions

  • KCC, after consulting the Department of Agriculture, must establish:
    • A Code of Conduct for large energy facility owners and their employees/agents, which must at minimum require truthful and noncoercive communications with landowners, project transparency, contact information, processes for early and meaningful landowner involvement, project maps, procedures to consider landowner-requested micrositing changes, consistent appraisal/offers, options for lump-sum or annual payments to landowners, compensation for damages to land/agricultural operations, an optional appeal process for disputed offers, scientifically based setbacks, remediation of communications interference, tracking of obligations by parcel, decommissioning plans, financial assurance for decommissioning, and indemnification provisions for landowners (except for willful acts).
    • Agricultural Impact Mitigation Protocols that must at minimum require advance notice before accessing private property, agriculturally experienced contacts, facility/structure standards to minimize agricultural impacts, procedures to mitigate impacts to drainage tiles/irrigation/terraces and stray voltage, soil protection and restoration measures (e.g., decompaction, topsoil segregation/replacement), and adherence to scientific standards such as NRCS/USDA guidance.
  • Creation of a permit system for affected projects and enforcement authority for KCC.
  • Penalties: KCC may assess civil penalties for violations not to exceed $10,000 per violation; amounts are remitted to the State General Fund.

Fiscal and administrative impacts

  • Fiscal note (Division of the Budget, Feb. 16, 2025) reports a modest one‑time effect tied to permit establishment and docket processing: Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board estimated a $5,000 increase in FY2026 revenue (permit fee) and $5,000 in FY2026 expenditures for dockets. KCC indicated no fiscal effect (citing existing transmission siting guidelines). The Judiciary noted potential increases in district court filings (appeals), but costs are undetermined. Counties/muncipalities indicated limited or no fiscal impact; counties noted possible savings if operators provide decommissioning funds.

Who is affected

  • Landowners and tenants in rural areas
  • Large energy facility owners, operators, contractors and their employees
  • Kansas Corporation Commission and Department of Agriculture (administration/oversight)
  • Utilities, agricultural producers, local governments and the judicial branch (for appeals/enforcement)

Procedural status (as provided)

  • Introduced Jan. 27, 2025; referred to Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications.

(Prepared to highlight the bill’s protections for agricultural land and landowners while creating regulatory expectations and enforcement authority for large energy projects.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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