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Senate unanimously backs bill clearing racial covenant to allow Wichita State Internet exchange project
Summary
Senate Bill 194 would clear an old racial covenant that blocked Wichita State University from using a 1.3-acre parcel for an Internet exchange point (IXP). Sponsors said the $5 million IXP will improve statewide internet speed and provide a training center; the Senate recorded a 40–0 vote in favor on final action.
The Kansas Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 194, a bill the sponsor said would remove a lingering racial covenant on a 1.3-acre parcel owned by Wichita State University so the university can host an Internet exchange point (IXP).
Senator Bowser said Wichita State discovered the covenant while preparing to place an IXP on the site and determined state law was the most effective way to eradicate the covenant to allow the $5,000,000 project to proceed. “An IXP is a physical location where Internet infrastructure companies connect and exchange Internet traffic,” Bowser said. He described the project as improving internet speed across Kansas and serving as a training center for Wichita State students.
Sponsor and committee supporters said the bill had bipartisan support, no opponents at the hearing and was unanimously advanced by the local government committee. Senator Faust Gadeau, speaking from Sedgwick, said neighbors supported the project after their concerns about location and modules were addressed and added, “this will benefit the entire state of Kansas.”
On final action the clerk recorded 40 votes in favor and none opposed. The bill moves forward after unanimous passage in the Senate.
The floor record shows the bill was briefly discussed in Committee of the Whole, that proponents emphasized both equity (removing the racial covenant) and infrastructure benefits (IXP), and that local stakeholders participated in consultations on siting and design.
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