Prohibiting the development or operation of any new large load data center in a county that has had a drought emergency declared for such county pursuant to the Kansas emergency management act within the preceding three years.

This bill prohibits the development or operation of new large load data centers in Kansas counties that have experienced a drought emergency within the last three years. It directly affects county governments, which would be required to deny applications for such facilities during the three-year period following a drought declaration. The law defines a large load data center as a facility with a monthly electrical demand of 10 megawatts or more and allows counties to issue moratoriums on these projects until the three-year period ends. Existing data centers authorized or permitted before July 1, 2026, are exempt from these restrictions, and the bill does not prevent local governments from adopting even stricter land use regulations.