Technology

SB 51 provides a sales tax exemption in Kansas for qualified data center construction, equipment, and eligible labor costs, targeting firms committing to a minimum $250 million investment and creating 20 new Kansas-based jobs within two years of operations. The exemption covers construction/remodeling of data centers, data center equipment (like servers and cooling systems), and installation/maintenance labor, but excludes electricity costs. To qualify, companies must register with the state, submit an application, and sign an agreement with the Commerce Secretary outlining investment and job creation commitments. Failure to meet these requirements may result in repayment of tax exemptions or termination of the benefit.

HB 2061 expands the legal definition of "critical infrastructure facility" for telecommunications crimes to explicitly include aboveground and belowground lines, cables, and wires. This change directly affects telecommunications and video service providers (like Charter Communications, which requested the bill) by bringing physical infrastructure such as buried fiber optic cables and overhead power lines under existing trespassing and damage laws. The bill amends Kansas law to clarify that knowingly entering or damaging these infrastructure elements - previously not explicitly covered - constitutes trespassing or criminal damage to a critical infrastructure facility. Penalties range from misdemeanors to felonies depending on the severity, aligning physical telecom infrastructure with other critical facilities like power grids under the same legal protections.

This bill establishes an Information Technology Executive Council to oversee state IT policies, including developing standards for data management, cybersecurity, and strategic IT planning across all state agencies. It requires the council to create a plan integrating executive branch IT services into a centralized office and develop a cybersecurity program for judicial branches by 2025. The bill mandates all government websites move to ".gov" domains by February 2025, requires separate budget line items for IT/cybersecurity spending, and expires July 1, 2026. It directly affects all state agencies, judicial branches, and IT operations by restructuring oversight and requiring specific reporting timelines.