But simple majorities wouldn’t have done them any good with a Sebelius veto. They need two-thirds majorities — 27 of 40 votes in the Senate and 84 of 125 in the House — to override a veto. Supporters have always had more than enough votes for such a margin in the Senate but have remained short in the House.

That led Sunflower’s supporters to make concessions, with the list growing as the debate continued. The strategy came close — the second bill passed with 83 votes — but hasn’t succeeded yet in the House.

All three bills contained new energy efficiency standards for state buildings, provisions designed to encourage Kansans to use their own, small solar-powered systems to supplement their power and tax credits for landlords that improved the insulation of their apartments and rental homes.

They also included a requirement that renewable resources, such as wind, account for at least 20 percent of most utilities’ generating capacity by 2020. In the last bill, Sunflower would have to meet that mandate by 2016 and join a climate registry to have its CO2 emissions tracked.

The third bill contained a provision requiring the secretary of health and environment to draft proposals rules on CO2 for legislators to consider. It also said the limits on his authority to impose new air-quality rules would last only two years.

But Sunflower’s supporters never compromised — and said they couldn’t — on their two most important issues. Those were ensuring that it can build both plants as planned outside Holcomb and preventing the secretary from using his emergency power to deny future air-quality permits.

Thus, especially to critics, everything Sunflower’s allies attached to those proposals seemed to be merely bait to attract reluctant legislators’ votes. That included proposals for encouraging economic development proposals elsewhere.

“I told you earlier that the lipstick is on the pig,” said Rep. Annie Kuether, a Topeka Democrat who opposed the three bills. “Now the tiara — the crown — is on the pig.”

The debate is far from over, of course.

Bremby’s decision already has inspired six separate legal challenges, three of which are before the Kansas Supreme Court. And undoubtedly, it will be a significant issue in this year’s elections, when all House and Senate seats are on the ballot.