Kansas House Republican leadership and Kansas business leaders released the following statements in advance of today's meeting of the State Finance Council to consider Governor Laura Kelly's proposal to extend the state's COVID-19 state of disaster emergency.
Speaker Ron Ryckman (R-Olathe), Majority Leader Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita), and Speaker Pro Tem Blaine Finch (R-Ottawa) "Kansans are disproportionately suffering through the economic recovery from our state's response to COVID-19. Under the failed leadership of Governor Laura Kelly, our state is currently experiencing the slowest weekly unemployment claims recovery in the nation, trailing all 49 other states and the District of Columbia.
Kansans facing hardship were forced to watch for nearly a month as the governor played politics, dragging her feet as 45 other states applied for and received extended unemployment benefits provided by President Trump's executive order. New issues surrounding the Department of Labor's handling of unemployment claims seemingly pop up every week. Kansas continues to rank in the bottom five states in testing capacity per capita. The governor has chronically mismanaged the state's response to the pandemic.
Going into today's State Finance Council meeting, House Republicans are resolved to empower Kansas small business owners, employees, and consumers to take control of the Kansas recovery. It is essential to prevent the governor from unilaterally ordering any new lockdowns that would destroy businesses, many of which are already on life support."
Kansas Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Alan Cobb "Kansas businesses have led from the beginning to protect the health and safety of their customers and employees. Certainty that state government won't force businesses to close their doors is how our state's economy begins to rebuild and recover. We applaud Republican leadership for taking the steps necessary to give our businesses the certainty they need to begin rebuilding."
National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) State Director Dan Murray "We all want to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Kansas. However, mandating that small businesses shut their doors again is not the answer," said NFIB State Director in Kansas, Dan Murray. "Small business owners are still recovering from the first shut down. The devastation was widespread, and many small businesses won't get back on their feet for months. Another shut down could be catastrophic. Our small business owners are responsible. They are taking the correct health measures to keep both their employees and customers safe. Keeping these businesses open is imperative to our state's long term economic health."
The State Finance Council will meet remotely this morning at 10 a.m. The meeting will be streamed at kslegislature.org.
