Category: Gov. Laura Kelly

Gov. Kelly calls on Kansas National Guard to help with COVID-19 response

Topeka – Gov. Laura Kelly on Friday announced additional efforts the state is taking to combat COVID-19.

Gov. Kelly deployed 80 nonmedical soldiers and airmen from the Kansas National Guard to support the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) testing sites across the state and assist with the shipment and delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE).


Additionally, Gov. Kelly engaged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to provide limited acute care and intensive care unit (ICU) beds for temporary medical treatment of non-eligible VA individuals to help reduce the strain on Kansas hospitals.


“We are at an inflection point with the Omicron variant, and the strain on our hospitals is taking a toll on our health care workers and patients – all while the virus continues to spread rapidly through our communities,” Gov. Kelly said. “The majority of hospital patients are unvaccinated. Please do your part by getting vaccinated and boosted today.”


Military medical professionals in the Kansas Guard, already filling positions at medical facilities in their communities, will stay in their respective communities. The nonmedical soldiers and airmen will be on federal orders for 31 days to assist the additional efforts.


The Veterans Health Administration facilities are limited and available based on bed availability at time of need and on a case-by-case basis until Feb. 17, 2022.


“The National Guard is a unique military component with both a state and federal mission,” Maj. Gen. David Weishaar, the adjutant general and director of the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, said. “Our citizen-soldiers and airmen live and work in the communities we serve.”


“We are seeing a record number of COVID-19 cases across the state, causing staffing shortages and hospitals to reach capacity. This partnership with the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, to accept transfers from Kansas facilities, will help alleviate the stress on our hospitals,” acting KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek said. “It will allow for more timely discharges, increase bed capacity, and allow staff to accept and treat the next acute patient. Also, with the increased demand for COVID-19 tests, the support from the Kansas National Guard will help provide the manpower to ensure that free and timely testing is available to Kansans.”


Since Wednesday, Jan. 19, Kansas reported 20,806 new cases of COVID-19, 29 new deaths, and 92 new hospitalizations.


The Kansas National Guard is one of many resources available to support counties as needed, according to the governor’s office. The National Guard supports state emergency missions through the established process used by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.


Gov. Laura Kelly signed a state disaster declaration on Jan. 6 to alleviate hospital staffing shortages along with two executive orders to temporarily suspend certain restrictions and regulations for adult care home and hospital staff.

  • Information from Gov. Laura Kelly’s office

Kansas lawmakers, officials march in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., call for unity

The annual Martin Luther King Jr. March around the statehouse elicited talk of unity and self-reflection to weather hard times, like the pandemic. (Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector)

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — In anticipation of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Kansas lawmakers, civil rights advocates and other government officials spoke Thursday of unity among Kansans as a key to weathering challenging times and making positive progress as a state.

Gov. Laura Kelly pointed to the acts of selflessness and teamwork displayed over the COVID-19 pandemic, from front-line health care workers to teachers to spiritual leaders, to show how the principles King held remain prevalent in Kansas today. She said the state’s elected leaders must not only heed that same call to service but work to set an example for all others.

“We can all do more to make our communities better. We can all do more to make each other better,” Kelly said. “We can truly make a difference when we take Dr. King’s lead and choose to stand together in solidarity, mutual respect and commitment to making the world a better place.”

State legislators, members of the governor’s cabinet, Attorney General Derek Schmidt and members of the Kansas African American Affairs Commission were among those who joined Kelly in the annual march around the statehouse to honor King.

Following the march, Kelly proclaimed Jan. 17, 2022, as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Kansas. (King was born on Jan. 15, but the day is observed as a holiday on the third Monday in January because of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.)

Last year, the march took place online to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Stacey Knoell, executive director of the African American Affairs Commission, said King’s words and efforts still ring loud and true today, making the effort to continue his legacy paramount. While toned down or better hidden, many of the same issues of the 1960s remain, she said.

“Mark Twain said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Well today we’re living through a time that certainly rhymes with the turbulence of the 1960s,” Knoell said. “We’re still fighting voter suppression; we’re still fighting for fair redistricting and we’re still fighting for human rights and dignity.”

The greatest gift provided by King was hope, Knoell said, adding that hope remains inside of all who heed his words and follow his example.

Beryl New, chair of the African American Affairs Commission, asked Kansans to look inside themselves and ask questions of their thoughts, opinions and actions. Self-reflection will open a path to creating a better Kansas, she said.

“When we do all of these, Kansas, America, the world will be closer to the vision of the dream that Dr. King had when he looked forward to the day, all God’s children, Black and white, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, can join hands and sing the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last,’ ” New said.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/01/13/kansas-lawmakers-officials-march-in-honor-of-martin-luther-king-jr-call-for-unity/

Kansas has billions of dollars in surplus. Here are 9 ways the governor wants to spend it

by Stephen Koranda, KCUR and Kansas News Service

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly unveiled a budget that proposes cutting the food sales tax, freezing tuition and sending $250 payments to Kansas taxpayers.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration laid out a plan Wednesday to cut taxes while spending more on education, law enforcement and mental health services as state lawmakers consider what to do with a surplus that could top $3 billion.

The details came as her administration revealed the budget plan hinted at in her State of the State address Tuesday night.

“There’s a host of investments,” Budget Director Adam Proffitt told lawmakers. “There’s debt paid down. There are savings accounts. There’s investing in core programs.”

There’s likely to be conflict between the Democratic governor and Republicans who are interested in less spending and broader cuts in taxes — issues likely to play out in Kelly’s reelection campaign.

Before Proffitt even presented the plan, the chairman of the Senate’s budget committee said lawmakers should be cautious about spending too much of the money in reserve.

“These dollars could disappear really, really quick,” Republican Sen. Rick Billinger said. “We appreciate all the input and the ideas on how to get rid of all this money, but we cannot afford reckless spending.”

Kelly’s spending plan is the blueprint lawmakers will start with as they craft a state budget. They’ll ultimately write the budget and send it to Kelly’s desk for her consideration.

Here are some of Kelly’s spending priorities her budget director outlined:

• Eliminate the 6.5% state sales tax rate on food. Local sales taxes could remain in place. Those local levies are part of the reason sales taxes top 10% total in some parts of Kansas. Eliminating the state sales tax on groceries would cost about $450 million in state revenue during the first year.

• Add $70 million more spending on higher education with the goal of restoring universities to pre-pandemic levels of funding and freezing tuition rates. The decision whether or not to increase tuition would ultimately be made by the Kansas Board of Regents.

• Direct income tax rebates of $250 per individual and $500 per couple filing jointly. That would amount to approximately $460 million.

• Pay down $586 million in state debt. That includes a $172 million bond for the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility in Manhattan and $254 million for the state employee pension plan. In total, Kelly’s administration says paying off the debts early would save Kansas $250 million in the long term.

• End the practice of diverting money from the Kansas Department of Transportation highway fund, which has been used in recent years to prop up the state’s overall budget. Those transfers are often referred to as “the bank of KDOT.”

• Continue the state’s K-12 funding plan that ended a years-long lawsuit over education spending.

• Spend $20 million on moderate-income housing in response to a report that found middle-income families in Kansas have few housing options. The administration did not have specific details on spending the money, as it would be handled by the Department of Commerce.

• Increase by more than $30 million spending for mental health services and suicide prevention. That would come as suicides have been rising in Kansas.

• Expand Medicaid in Kansas, which would provide health care coverage for around 150,000 low-income Kansans. This has been opposed by Republican lawmakers in recent years and appears likely to stall again.

Stephen Koranda is the news editor for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Koranda or email him at stephenkoranda (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-01-12/kansas-has-billions-of-dollars-in-surplus-here-are-9-ways-the-governor-wants-to-spend-it.