Data-center law in Kansas
Subnational jurisdiction · as of 2026-09-06
Kansas's data-center permitting spine runs through the same city and county planning and zoning act used for any other large building, K.S.A. 12-741 et seq., with no separate siting statute for data centers.
Kansas has no mandatory statewide building code: cities may incorporate a standard or model code by reference under K.S.A. 12-3009, so which code (if any) applies depends on the locality rather than on state law, unlike Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code or the District of Columbia's construction code.
There is no state-level environmental-impact-statement requirement comparable to a mini-NEPA; environmental review is project-specific, running through Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) air and water permitting rather than a general impact-statement statute.
The State Corporation Commission has general jurisdiction over electric public utilities, and a data center's water draw for cooling is an appropriation right under the Kansas Water Appropriation Act, ranked as an industrial use behind domestic, municipal, and irrigation uses when supply is short.
Kansas's most consequential data-center-specific instrument is a 2025 sales tax exemption, 2025 Kan. Sess. Laws ch. 124 (SB 98), conditioning eligibility on a qualified firm's aggregate investment of at least $250,000,000 in eligible data center costs by the fifth year of operations and at least 20 new Kansas jobs within two years of commencing operations, administered through an agreement with the Secretary of Commerce.
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Instruments on record
6 instruments on record, grouped by the family of approval each one governs.
Land use
Who decides whether a data center may occupy a site, and through what approval?
Planning, Zoning and Subdivision Regulations in Cities and Counties Act (enabling statute)
In force
K.S.A. 12-741 et seq.
Effective 1992-01-01 · Applies to both
Enabling legislation authorizing cities and counties to enact planning and zoning laws and regulations for the protection of public health, safety, and welfare. A data center's rezoning or special-use approval proceeds under a local ordinance adopted pursuant to this act, and a county may exercise this authority without state interference so long as its local enactments do not conflict with the act.
Source: Full text of law
Energy and grid
What authorizations govern grid connection and onsite generation?
State Corporation Commission jurisdiction over electric public utilities
In force
K.S.A. 66-101
Applies to private
Gives the State Corporation Commission full power, authority, and jurisdiction to supervise and control electric public utilities doing business in Kansas, including the interconnection infrastructure a data center's grid connection depends on.
Source: Full text of law
Water and utilities
Who commits water and sewer service, and under what assessment?
Kansas Water Appropriation Act (appropriation right required to divert water)
In force
K.S.A. 82a-701 et seq.
Applies to both
Governs the appropriation of surface and groundwater for a beneficial use, administered by the chief engineer of the Division of Water Resources, Kansas Department of Agriculture. A data center's cooling-water draw is an industrial appropriation right, which the act defines as a right acquired under article 7 of chapter 82a to divert from a definite water supply a specific quantity of water at a specific rate of diversion.
Where lawful uses of water share the same priority date, the act ranks them domestic, municipal, irrigation, industrial, recreational, and water power, so an industrial appropriator such as a data center ranks behind domestic, municipal, and irrigation users when supply is short. As between appropriators generally, the first in time is the first in right.
Source: Full text of law
Construction
What codes and permits govern the build itself?
Adoption of standard or model codes by reference (no mandatory statewide building code)
In force
K.S.A. 12-3009
Applies to both
This section authorizes, but does not require, a city to incorporate by reference in its own ordinance a standard or model code (such as an edition of the International Building Code) on any subject the city may legislate on, including construction.
Source: Full text of law
Air and operations
What permits govern backup generators and ongoing emissions?
Kansas Air Quality Act (KDHE permitting authority)
In force
K.S.A. 65-3005
Applies to both
Empowers the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to establish ambient air quality standards for Kansas. The secretary may issue such orders, permits and approvals as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act, which is the permitting authority a data center's backup generator fleet would apply under. The secretary's own standards may not be more stringent than the federal Clean Air Act absent legislative approval.
Source: Full text of law
Public agreements
What fiscal agreements attach a data center to its host jurisdiction?
Sales tax exemption for qualified data centers
In force
2025 Kan. Sess. Laws ch. 124 (SB 98); K.S.A. 74-50,331 through 74-50,333, 79-3606(xxxx)
Applies to private
Exempts a qualified firm's eligible data center costs and its purchases and leases of data center equipment, and labor services to install or maintain that equipment, from Kansas retail sales and use tax.
A qualified firm receives the exemption only if it commits, in an agreement with the Secretary of Commerce, to invest at least $250,000,000 in the aggregate in a qualified data center by the fifth year of operations and to create and maintain at least 20 new Kansas jobs within two calendar years after commencing operations. The firm must also commit to purchase electricity for 10 years from the certified public utility serving the site and to undertake specified water conservation practices.
The Secretary of Commerce certifies eligibility to the Secretary of Revenue, and may require repayment, suspension, or termination of the exemption if the firm breaches the agreement and does not cure the breach within 120 days of notice.
Source: Full text of law
Every entry cites the instrument it describes.
None of it is legal advice: verify a citation before relying on it. Full
sourcing: read the methodology. The rest of the
record: all jurisdictions.