Plan could give $500M to businesses

Kansas Republicans want to give $500 million to small businesses to cover losses from COVID-19.

By

State News

May 10, 2021 - 9:40 AM

The Kansas State Capitol Building

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans pushed a plan through the Kansas Legislature early Saturday 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 would require the state, cities and counties to set aside part of their federal coronavirus relief funds to pay claims from small businesses. It was the last bill lawmakers considered before shutting down their annual session except for a formal adjournment May 26.

The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a bipartisan public school funding bill and finished a $21 billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The budget also included provisions to prevent the state from issuing COVID-19 vaccine passports and to restrict efforts to track down close contacts of people with the virus.

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