During a public hearing Tuesday in Wichita, members of the Kansas Energy Council got an earful about a proposal that speed limits on Kansas highways be reduced.

Jeff Kennedy, a Wichita attorney who represents the natural gas industry on the council, said the speed limit recommendation was the primary focus of most audience members who addressed the council.

Two individuals, citing safety and energy conservation issues, spoke in favor of the recommendation to lower highway speed limits to 65 mph.

“The bulk of the rest of the people that spoke were opposed,” Kennedy said. “And I’m not surprised by that. We had a pretty spirited discussion on the energy council when this suggestion first came up.”

Kennedy said the sentiment expressed by speakers ranged from “it’s a good thing, to it’s an exercise in bad government, to it’s an infringement on individual rights.”

Since the energy council developed a list of 15 recommendations, the speed limit recommendation has drawn by far the most media attention and public interest.

The council is now collecting public input, both at public hearings and via written correspondence. Citizens interested in providing input on any of the council’s recommendations have until Oct. 11 to submit comments. Instructions are available here.

Kennedy said the council would weigh public comments, both verbal and written, when it develops a final package of recommendations to present to the Kansas Legislature in January. He said the final package would be hammered out Dec. 10 during a public meeting in Topeka.

Several lawmakers, including Sen. Janis Lee, a Kensington Democrat who serves on the energy council, have said they doubt whether the Legislature will go along with a reduced speed limit on highways.

Rep. Tom Sloan, a Lawrence Republican who also serves on the council, told Kansas Liberty that he wasn’t sure what kind of reception the proposal would receive.

“I’m not really sure how the Legislature would react,” he said. Sloan pointed out though that drivers concerned about safety or energy conservation had a personal option.

“Within reason, people can drive slower than the posted speed limit on highways now,” he said.

Sloan said he heard from a handful of constituents after the energy council initially released its recommendations. All opposed a lower speed limit, he said.

Lee’s belief that the speed limit reduction would be DOA if and when it hits the Legislature was well known by the council.

“We have several legislators on the council who have been very candid about what the Legislature might or might not do,” Sloan said. “As far as the speed limit being DOA, I don’t know that I disagree with that. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t even be considered.”

There was little discussion of another energy council recommendation that also has received top billing in the Kansas media – doubling fines for highway speeders.

Under the preliminary recommendation, motorists caught exceeding the highway speed limit by 20 mph would pay a fine of $180, instead of $90 under the current law. They also would be subject to court costs.

Another measure that could lead to higher insurance rates for highway speeders also was part of the council’s package of preliminary recommendations but drew no comments on Wednesday.

Currently, drivers can be ticketed for going less than 10 mph over a highway speed limit, but those tickets are considered non-moving violations and do not affect insurance rates. The council recommended that drivers who exceed the highway speed limit by 5 mph be issued tickets that would be considered moving violations.

Also not addressed during Wednesday’s meeting was a recommendation that could lead to a significant increase in the cost of state building construction and renovation projects.

Specifically, the energy council has recommended that any new state buildings, or any existing state buildings that undergo substantial renovations, must meet the highest standard offered through the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Projects that feature sufficient green elements can qualify for various levels of LEED certification. The highest rating it offers is Platinum.

Currently, there is only one building in the state that has met that standard – an arts center in Greensburg that was designed and built by 22 University of Kansas architecture students.

Greensburg is the town that was virtually leveled in May 2007 by an EF-5 tornado. In January, the Greensburg City Council passed a resolution to certify all city owned buildings as LEED Platinum, the first city in the nation to make such a commitment.

Sources in the development community said achieving the Platinum standard could increase construction costs by between 2 and 10 percent. And Kansas has received widespread criticism for state projects – particularly a Capitol renovation – costing more than anticipated.

The Platinum standard would apply to state government buildings, as well as to buildings on campuses administered by the Kansas Board of Regents.

Kennedy said representatives of the development and building community had indicated to the energy council that increased construction costs are typically recovered by energy savings in a LEED certified building.

He said the private sector also has embraced the green building concept. In fact, two of the Kansas City area’s largest construction companies, JE Dunn and McCown Gordon require employees who interact directly with construction to earn LEEDs accreditation, and JE Dunn has completed more than $2 billion in LEED certified projects.

“The market’s moving in the right direction,” Kennedy said. He added that constructing state buildings to LEED’s highest standard might encourage more private sector developers and builders to do likewise.

The Week in Review