Session of 2000
HOUSE BILL No. 2779
By Committee on Utilities
2-1
9 AN ACT
concerning regulation and taxation of electric power producers;
10 amending K.S.A. 1999
Supp. 66-104 and 79-5a01 and and repealing
11 the existing
sections.
12
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas:
14 Section
1. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 66-104 is hereby amended to read as
15 follows: 66-104. (a) The term
"public utility," as used in this act, shall be
16 construed to mean every corporation,
company, individual, association of
17 persons, their trustees, lessees or
receivers, that now or hereafter may
18 own, control, operate or manage, except for
private use, any equipment,
19 plant or generating machinery, or any part
thereof, for the transmission
20 of telephone messages or for the
transmission of telegraph messages in
21 or through any part of the state, or the
conveyance of oil and gas through
22 pipelines in or through any part of the
state, except pipelines less than 15
23 miles in length and not operated in
connection with or for the general
24 commercial supply of gas or oil, and all
companies for the production,
25 transmission, delivery or furnishing of
heat, light, water or power. No
26 cooperative, cooperative society, nonprofit
or mutual corporation or as-
27 sociation which is engaged solely in
furnishing telephone service to sub-
28 scribers from one telephone line without
owning or operating its own
29 separate central office facilities, shall
be subject to the jurisdiction and
30 control of the commission as provided
herein, except that it shall not
31 construct or extend its facilities across
or beyond the territorial boundaries
32 of any telephone company or cooperative
without first obtaining approval
33 of the commission. As used herein, the term
"transmission of telephone
34 messages" shall include the transmission by
wire or other means of any
35 voice, data, signals or facsimile
communications, including all such com-
36 munications now in existence or as may be
developed in the future.
37 (b) The
term "public utility" shall also include that portion of every
38 municipally owned or operated electric or
gas utility located outside of
39 and more than three miles from the
corporate limits of such municipality,
40 but nothing in this act shall apply to a
municipally owned or operated
41 utility, or portion thereof, located within
the corporate limits of such
42 municipality or located outside of such
corporate limits but within three
43 miles thereof except as provided in K.S.A.
66-131a, and amendments
2
1 thereto.
2
(c) Except as herein provided, the power and authority
to control and
3 regulate all public utilities and
common carriers situated and operated
4 wholly or principally within any city
or principally operated for the benefit
5 of such city or its people, shall be
vested exclusively in such city, subject
6 only to the right to apply for relief
to the corporation commission as
7 provided in K.S.A. 66-133, and
amendments thereto, and to the provi-
8 sions of K.S.A. 66-131a and K.S.A.
1999 Supp. 66-104e, and amendments
9 thereto. A transit system principally
engaged in rendering local transpor-
10 tation service in and between contiguous
cities in this and another state
11 by means of street railway, trolley bus and
motor bus lines, or any com-
12 bination thereof, shall be deemed to be a
public utility as that term is
13 used in this act and, as such, shall be
subject to the jurisdiction of the
14 commission.
15 (d) The
term "public utility" shall not include any activity of an oth-
16 erwise jurisdictional corporation, company,
individual, association of per-
17 sons, their trustees, lessees or receivers
as to the marketing or sale of
18 compressed natural gas for end use as motor
vehicle fuel.
19 (e) At the
option of an otherwise jurisdictional entity, the term
"public
20 utility" shall not include any activity
of such entity as to the generation,
21 marketing and sale of electricity
generated by a nonnuclear electric gen-
22 eration facility construction no portion
of which is included in the rate
23 base of: (1) An electric public utility
that is subject to rate regulation by
24 the state corporation commission; (2)
any cooperative, as defined by
25 K.S.A. 17-4603 and amendments thereto,
or any nonstock member-owned
26 cooperative corporation incorporated in
this state; or (3) a municipally
27 owned or operated electric
utility.
28 New Sec.
2. (a) As used in this section, "independent power pro-
29 ducer property" means property used solely
in the generation, marketing
30 and sale of electricity generated by an
electric generation facility no por-
31 tion of which is included in the rate base
of: (1) An electric public utility
32 that is subject to rate regulation by the
state corporation commission; (2)
33 a cooperative, as defined by K.S.A. 17-4603
and amendments thereto, or
34 a nonstock member-owned cooperative
corporation incorporated in this
35 state; or (3) a municipally owned or
operated electric utility.
36 (b) For all
taxable years commencing on or after July 1, 2000, inde-
37 pendent power producer property is
commercial and industrial property
38 for the purposes of taxation of real
property and tangible personal
39 property.
40 Sec.
3. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 79-5a01 is hereby amended to read as
41 follows: 79-5a01. (a) As used in this act,
the terms "public utility" or
42 "public utilities" shall mean every
individual, company, corporation, as-
43 sociation of persons, lessees or receivers
that now or hereafter are in
3
1 control, manage or operate a business
of:
2 (1) A
railroad or railroad corporation if such railroad or railroad
cor-
3 poration owns or holds, by deed or
other instrument, an interest in right-
4 of-way, track, franchise, roadbed or
trackage in this state;
5
(2) transmitting to, from, through or in this state
telegraphic
6 messages;
7
(3) transmitting to, from, through or in this state telephonic
messages;
8
(4) transporting or distributing to, from, through or in this
state nat-
9 ural gas, oil or other commodities in
pipes or pipelines, or engaging pri-
10 marily in the business of storing natural
gas in an underground formation;
11 (5) generating,
conducting or distributing to, from, through or in this
12 state electric power, except for private
use;
13 (6) transmitting
to, from, through or in this state water if for profit
14 or subject to regulation of the state
corporation commission;
15 (7) transporting
to, from, through or in this state cargo or passengers
16 by means of any vessel or boat used in
navigating any of the navigable
17 watercourses within or bordering upon this
state.
18 (b) The terms
"public utility" or "public utilities" shall not include:
19 (1) Rural water districts established under
the laws of the state of Kansas;
20 or (2) any individual, company,
corporation, association of persons, lessee
21 or receiver owning or operating an oil or
natural gas production gathering
22 line which is situated within one county in
this state and does not cross
23 any state boundary line; (3) any
individual, company, corporation, asso-
24 ciation of persons, lessee or receiver
owning any vessel or boat operated
25 upon the surface of any manmade waterway
located entirely within one
26 county in the state; or
(4) for all taxable years commencing after Decem-
27 ber 31, 1998, any natural gas distribution
system which is owned and
28 operated by a nonprofit public utility
described by K.S.A. 66-104c, and
29 amendments thereto, and which is operated
predominantly for the pur-
30 pose of providing fuel for the irrigation
of land devoted to agricultural
31 use; or (5) for all taxable years
commencing on or after July 1, 2000, at
32 the option of the taxpayer, the
taxpayer's business of generating, market-
33 ing and selling electricity generated by
a nonnuclear electric generation
34 facility no portion of which is included
in the rate base of: (A) An electric
35 public utility that is subject to rate
regulation by the state corporation
36 commission; (B) a cooperative, as
defined by K.S.A. 17-4603 and amend-
37 ments thereto, or a nonstock
member-owned cooperative corporation in-
38 corporated in this state; or (C) a
municipally owned or operated electric
39 public utility.
40 Sec. 4. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 66-104
and 79-5a01 are hereby repealed.
41 Sec. 5. This act shall
take effect and be in force from and after its
42 publication in the statute book.