Governor Kelly Makes $38.5 Million of CARES Act Funding Available to Kansas Small Businesses, Slow COVID-19 Spread

Governor Laura Kelly has announced the State Finance Council unanimously approved the Kansas Office of Recovery recommendations to allocate $20 million to hard-hit businesses and $18.5 million for public health response efforts including vaccine administration and distribution.

The $38.5 million is from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) of the federal CARES Act.

“My administration is focused on keeping Kansans healthy and protecting our small businesses, this funding will help us do both,” Governor Kelly said. “We will distribute these funds quickly and efficiently to hard-hit communities and businesses across the state, which will bolster our efforts to protect Kansans and keep businesses and schools open.”

The $20 million of Business Resiliency and Workforce Support recommendations will include support for the following: restaurants and bars, large venues, movie theaters, PPE manufacturing and private colleges.

The $18.5 million of Public Health Response recommendations includes funding for the following: support for local health departments, vaccine administration and distribution, PPE for nursing homes and support for safety net clinics.

“These investments help keep businesses open and bolster our public health response all across Kansas,” Office of Recovery Executive Director Julie Lorenz said. “I want to thank Governor Kelly and the State Finance Council for helping us deliver these dollars as quickly as we can to Kansans that really need them.”

The allocations approved were from funding recouped from other previously approved programs that were unable to utilize all their funding by the December 30 deadline. The Office of Recovery will present to State Finance Council again next month to provide recommendations for how to invest in any remaining funds.

(Information courtesy Office of the Governor.)