Feb 8 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - David Klepper The Star'S Topeka Correspondent The Kansas City Star, Mo.

A bill to resurrect Sunflower Electric Power Corp.'s rejected coal plant expansion hit the skids today when a committee opted to postpone a vote.

Rep. Carl Holmes, a Republican from Liberal who chairs the House Energy and Utilities Committee, had planned to hold a key vote on the legislation this morning. Until the bill ran into trouble yesterday, it was on a legislative fast-track, with a vote scheduled Friday after a week of hearings.

Holmes offered no explanation for pulling the vote off the agenda. He called his committee to order, said he had been "ordered" not to work the bill, and said he wouldn't respond to questions. He then adjourned the committee, leaving some committee members confused.

"I'm not going to talk," he told reporters after the brief meeting.

House Speaker Melvin Neufeld released a statement afterward saying that after talking to lawmakers, he had decided to pull the bill back for further refinement.

"We will be meeting with interested parties to work on solutions," the statement reads.

The bill has turned out to be the most significant -- and contentious -- legislation of the Kansas legislative session so far. The decision today indicates lawmakers are still a ways from resolving the issue of the rejected coal plant.

Earlier this week, Neufeld appointed lawmakers to a new special committee to study the state's future energy policy. It's possible that committee could take over work on the coal plant issue.

The bill, touted as a bipartisan compromise, has attracted an eclectic group of opponents. Environmental groups say it's too generous to utilities. Anti-tax groups say it's too onerous and could drive away business investment by taxing excessive carbon emissions. School groups don't like a requirement that new schools be more energy-efficient.

The bill was crafted in response to the rejection last year of Sunflower Electric Power Corp's plans to expand its coal-burning plant near Holcomb.

The state's top regulator denied a permit, citing climate change concerns.

The bill introduced last week would take away the discretion the regulator used to deny the permit. Sunflower could ask the state to reconsider, and if successful, build the plant under new the carbon emission rules.

An identical version of the bill is still active in the Senate, where hearings continued today.

To reach David Klepper, call 785-354-1388 or send email to dklepper@kcstar.com.