Opinion column
Views
by Murrel Bland
The Legislative Committee of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce is looking ahead to January 2021 when the Kansas Legislature will be back in session. Committee members, who met Friday, Sept. 11, via Zoom, expressed their views on various issues that the Legislature will face.
Mike Smallwood, the Legislative Committee chairman, said he is concerned about the restrictions business owners face because of the coronavirus pandemic. He told of a bowling alley in Lawrence that is struggling to stay open.
Cathy Harding, a member of the Legislative Committee, said it is important that restrictions are followed so the country can get past this pandemic. She is the president of the Wyandotte Health Foundation.
Greg Kindle, the president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, said the Legislature needs to look at early childhood education. He said affordable child care is a serious issue facing employees in many Wyandotte County businesses.
Smallwood said that a couple of issues he expects legislators to face are the online sales tax and encouraging state and local government to buy from local suppliers. He said he was surprised that state revenues for August were unexpectedly high.
Committee members were briefed on various federal stimulus proposals that would be contingent on the State Finance Council approving a state of emergency because of the coronavirus pandemic. The council did approve the state of emergency. However, a provision of the approval was that Gov. Laura Kelly would not close any business because of the pandemic.
Gov. Kelly recently announced that four Kansas cities, including Kansas City, Kansas, have submitted proposals vying for the U.S. Space Command; the other Kansas cities are Wichita, Derby and Leavenworth.
Daniel Silva, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is hoping to sponsor debates for candidates running for the Third District, U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate. Business West will sponsor candidates’ forums for those running for the Kansas House and Kansas Senate.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.