Kansas

During the 1975, 1976, and 1977 legislative sessions, both the Kansas Legislative Special Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Kansas House Committee on Energy and Natural Resources considered bills that would have enacted statewide building codes addressing energy efficiency. These legislative attempts failed, and in 1977 the House Committee abandoned an attempt to pass a bill in favor of allowing the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to address the issue in a Show Cause Order issued under Docket 110,766-U.

Thermal standards as well as air-conditioning equipment efficiency were subsequently adopted by the KCC order in September 1977 under Docket 110,766-U. Under the order, each electric and gas utility required a certificate of compliance with the adopted standards from the owner of each newly constructed residential or commercial building before the utility could provide permanent service. The thermal standards (maximum heat loss as a function of floor area) adopted at that time presented a problem because not all electric and gas utilities were under KCC jurisdiction.

To address that concern, the 1978 legislative session adopted Kansas Statutes Annotated 66-131a, HB 2698, giving the KCC jurisdiction over municipal electric and natural gas utilities to restrict connections to buildings not meeting the standards. Gas utilities were only required to ensure compliance with the insulation requirements of the order, while electric utilities were required to ensure compliance with both the insulation and air-conditioning equipment efficiency requirements.

In 1979 the legislature approved the adoption of Kansas Administrative Regulation 27-2-1, establishing maximum lighting efficiency standards for public buildings. The thermal standards were in effect for all Kansas electric and natural gas utilities until 1992. The 1992 legislative session adopted Kansas Statutes Annotated 66-104d, SB 435, which allowed electric cooperatives the option of deregulation.

The KCC formally adopted the 1993 MEC and ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1989 on January 23, 1996. On April 24, 1997, Kansas Governor Bill Graves signed legislation (SB 333) to retain the 1993 MEC for residential construction referenced in the state energy efficiency policy. In addition, Section 17 of SB 333 adopted ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1989 (standard or code) for new commercial and industrial structures, although it did not define "commercial" or "industrial." The legislature, through Section 17, also assumed authority for building energy standards from the KCC. The KCC was still responsible for commercial and residential energy code training and educational seminars.

In 2007, Kansas had adopted the 2006 IECC as the applicable energy efficiency standard for commercial and industrial structures in the state. No enforcement mechanism was provided in the statute (KSA 66-1227).

The Energy Efficiency Building Codes Working Group was established in May 2009 to ensure compliance with the federal energy code requirement for states receiving federal Recovery Act funds. The Working Group met several times during 2009 and adopted a preliminary plan to achieve compliance with the following goal:

• By 2017, 90% of new and renovated residential structures in Kansas meet the 2009 IECC standards, and 90% of new and renovated commercial structures meet the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007.