Washington ? A Kansas lawmaker is raising concerns about a special regulatory break being sought by his state’s largest electric company.

Lawmakers are considering whether to add an exemption for Westar Energy Inc. to a much broader energy bill being negotiated by a House-Senate conference committee. A Texas congressman is trying to help Topeka, Kan.-based Westar relax oversight of its operations by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kansas Democratic Rep. Dennis Moore said the exemption concerned him because laws passed for the sole benefit of one company were generally bad public policy. But “sunlight is the best disinfectant,” Moore said.

“I hope that Chairman Barton and Westar officials will justify this measure to the press and public, before Congress is asked to vote on this small provision buried within the very large conference agreement,” Moore said, referring to the Texas lawmaker pressing Westar’s case, Republican Rep. Joe Barton.

Moore was appointed to the energy conference committee to vote on an unrelated budget issue in the bill, but he does not have a vote on energy matters.

Westar is worried that repeal of the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act also under consideration in the energy bill debate would trigger regulation by the SEC, if the company someday splits up its operations. Westar also owns burglar alarm systems and an Oklahoma-based natural gas company.

Lawmakers may decide this week on agreeing to the exemption Westar wants. The conference committee was scheduled to meet again today, although Senate members said Wednesday they had not had time to review Barton’s proposal. House members on the panel agreed last week to the exemption.

Barton has not returned phone calls from The Associated Press, although he said in hearings that his exemption was intended only to benefit Westar. Barton leads the energy subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee.

The rest of the Kansas delegation does not appear to share Moore’s concerns. GOP Rep. Jim Ryun, whose district includes Westar headquarters, said he understood the exemption would not change Westar’s reporting requirements or the company’s obligations to comply with new corporate reform legislation.

Ryun said the Westar provision merely would grandfather in an existing exemption in the event Congress repeals the public utility law.

“I will not support any exemption that weakens these tough new reforms signed into law this summer,” Ryun said.

Congress passed the reforms in response to scandals touched off by the failure of Enron Corp., an energy company that sought and received the same exemption from the SEC in 1997.

Republican Reps. Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran said they didn’t know about the regulatory break sought by Westar. GOP Sen. Sam Brownback, who serves on the energy-regulating Senate Commerce Committee, said he also did not know about the exemption.