Judiciary committee hears overview of eminent domain, utilities and Grain Belt Express land-acquisition practices

The Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee held an informational briefing on eminent domain and the exercise of condemnation authority by government agencies and utilities, with an eye toward transmission lines, recreational trails and park projects.

A legislative reviser opened the briefing with an overview of the state's eminent-domain framework. The reviser said Kansas possesses an inherent sovereign power of eminent domain that the legislature may delegate to public and private entities, but that any taking requires just compensation under the U.S. Constitution and the Kansas Constitution (article XII, section 4) and must follow the Eminent Domain Procedure Act (KSA 26-5xx series). The reviser summarized valuation procedures: a presiding judge appoints three disinterested appraisers who examine the land, hold a public hearing, receive testimony from interested parties and consider statutorily listed factors to determine fair market value.

Representative Brett Fairchild, who introduced a bill to restrict eminent domain use, said the measure is a response to constituent concerns about transmission projects such as the Grain Belt Express and to calls from private-property advocates to make eminent-domain takings rarer. "This bill doesn't go as far as I would want it to go," Fairchild said, noting his bill would make it more difficult for governments to authorize takings for economic-development purposes.

Industry witnesses described customary practices and reforms. Dave Peck, director of project management for transmission and substation construction at Evergy, said utility easement acquisition is the most time-consuming part of building transmission; utilities aim to obtain about 90% of rights by negotiation and he estimated condemnation is required roughly 5% of the time, often for title-cleanup issues such as unresolved probate. Peck described internal approvals required before Evergy files a condemnation action and said the Kansas Corporation Commission's updated siting guidance should provide greater clarity.

Kimberly Genker Swati, representing Advanced Power Alliance and Kansas Municipal Utilities, said generator lead lines for wind and solar in Kansas do not carry eminent-domain authority; development of generator lead lines must be negotiated with willing landowners. Swati provided data she attributed to Grain Belt Express showing 97.5% of easements obtained by voluntary agreement and only 17 of 1,005 acquired through a contested appraiser hearing. She said Grain Belt Express has a 50-foot right-of-way footprint for towers and that landowners are compensated for the partial taking while generally retaining use up to the tower base.

Senators asked about valuation for partial takings and visual impact of large poles in urban neighborhoods. Senator Haley asked whether property-value impacts on adjacent parcels are considered; the reviser said Kansas case law may allow a landowner to seek compensation for provable impacts to their particular property and that he would research the issue further. Swati and Peck described engineering trade-offs — pole size, guy wires and foundation sizes — and said utilities increasingly try to avoid oversizing structures in urban areas.

The committee did not take legislative action during the informational briefing. Members were provided written materials, including a memo and a chapter on eminent-domain law from the Revisor's office, and were invited to review Senate Bill 262 and written testimony placed in the briefing packet.

Why it matters: The briefing addressed recurring tensions between the need for electric transmission and local property rights, offered data about voluntary easement rates and underscored the limited, sometimes title-related, uses of condemnation by utilities. The session also highlighted constituent concerns about visual impacts and compensation for partial takings, topics likely to inform any future legislation.