Gov. Kelly: Approval of expanded unemployment likely but expect another payment backlog
Updated 5:30 p.m.: The State Finance Council has rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s request to fund additional weekly unemployment benefits for out-of-work Kansans at the $400 level. Kelly will instead apply for $300 a week in additional benefits under the federal Lost Wages Assistance Program.
Kansas would have used federal coronavirus aid money to fund the additional $100 per week.
Original story: Gov. Laura Kelly said Thursday that out-of-work Kansans should expect another unemployment backlog if the State Finance Council approves a second round of extra weekly benefits — but those eligible will eventually receive retroactive payments.
Kelly, who is scheduled to meet with the council Thursday, said she expects approval of $300 or $400 a week in expanded unemployment benefits under the federal Lost Wages Assistant program launched last month by President Donald Trump. An earlier initiative that provided $600 a week in extra benefits expired in July.
But, she said, Kansans won’t see the money immediately following an approval because the state would have to create a new digital platform to administer it. That would take about four weeks, she said.
“The feds, when they provided the unemployment supplements, did it in such a way that all 50 states had to create new platforms for that. … That’s not an overnight, flip a switch kind of thing,” Kelly said, noting that the Kansas Department of Labor is making “significant progress” closing a sizable backlog caused by a surge in claims the state’s antiquated computer system couldn’t handle earlier this year.
“We’re working on the current backlog, and I think we’re getting pretty close to complete with that. But I expect that we’ll establish another one,” she said.
“I just want to reassure everybody who is eligible for the $300 or $400 a week that that will be retroactive to Aug. 1. So they’ll get the money.”
Kelly’s remarks came during a question-and-answer session she had with local news media following a morning tour of Sedgwick County Comcare Children’s Services, 350 S. Broadway in Wichita. Comcare’s executive director, Joan Tammany, said the governor’s office asked to visit the downtown campus to discuss COVID-19’s impact on the delivery of mental health services in Wichita and acknowledge workers.
Here are some other questions Kelly answered. The questions have been summarized for clarity.
What is the state doing to help with unemployment and mental health?
“We’re doing everything we possibly can to shore up our businesses and allow them to be open, to be productive and hopefully to be profitable and to keep people employed. ... We also recognize that no matter our best efforts, there are a record number of unemployed still in the state of Kansas. And that is one of the reasons that we’ve done things like a moratorium on evictions so folks are not thrown out on the street. We’ve increased access to food assistance for folks who are unemployed. So we’re doing all of those kinds of things. The supports that we can provide there will supplement the mental health supports that folks will get through Comcare.”
Will eviction moratoriums be expanded to include business leases?
“There are conversations going along those lines. But businesses have had access to the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program), which allowed them ... to be able to keep people employed and pay their bills. We’re hoping for another round of that from Congress. That is likely to be part of a stimulus four package.”
Will that help with unemployment claims? A recent WalletHub study that ranked Kansas’ workforce among the slowest to recover from COVID-19.
“That was a snapshot in time. So I give little credence to those kinds of reports that come out. What we’re looking at is the trend in unemployment. You know, I think we hit a high of close to 12 percent and we’re back down now around 7 percent. So the trend is going the right way. Unfortunately, Sedgwick County continues to be severely hit by unemployment. So much of that started pre-pandemic in the aerospace industry in particular. And it’s just been exacerbated during the pandemic. So we’re working with folks in Sedgwick County with our SPARK taskforce (Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas)… to figure out ways that we can help.”
The CDC says there may be COVID-19 vaccine by early November. What is the state doing to ensure vaccines will be available to Kansans quickly?
“We’re working on a plan. We anticipate there will be a vaccine and so we are putting together a process and procedures to do mass distribution, inoculation, when the vaccine is available. In terms of the time frame, we’re planning on tomorrow so that as soon as it comes we will be in good shape to dispense it. Do I expect that it will be ready November 1? I really have no idea. There are lots of mixed messages coming from Washington on whether there is one or whether we’re really just entering phase three trials, which tend to take a long time. ... It seems like a heavy lift to get that done and out to states by November 1. But if that happens, great.”
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 3:28 PM.
