Republican lawmakers have pushed a plan through the Kansas Legislature that could provide roughly $500 million to small businesses to offset losses tied to state and local restrictions meant to check COVID-19's spread last year.
The measure approved early Saturday would require the state, cities and counties to set aside part of their federal coronavirus relief funds to pay claims from small businesses. Supporters said creating a system for paying claims could avoid a larger total payout from potential lawsuits, but doing so would help small businesses that cannot afford to hire attorneys to sue state or local officials. Critics questioned whether the claims process would be transparent enough.