TOPEKA — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly opened Friday's press conference with the latest coronavirus numbers from the KDHE. The state has 295 new cases of the virus in 76 of the state's 105 counties. The largest one day increase.
The state also reported one less death from Thursday's report. The total number of deaths dropped from 112 to 111 due to a misdiagnosis, according to Kelly.
The governor said she is ready to turn her attention from virus response to recovery next week. This will involved three efforts that will begin to move simultaneously.
First Kelly and her team are working to develop a plan related to the Cares Act, "that ensures we get federal dollars into the Kansas economy as quickly as possible," she said.
Second, Kelly will announce guidance on safely reopening the Kansas economy in phases. Once the plan is finalized, she will share it next week.
Third, Kelly said she and her team must identify a strategy for managing state cash flow and addressing the impending budget crisis. "The slowdown on the economy brought on by the spread of Covid-19 has caused our state's budget situation to deteriorate rapidly.
If we want to protect all the progress we've made in our schools, infrastructure and more, then Kansas will need help to make it through this in the form of more flexible state aid. If the federal government fails to act, we will be forced to make very deep cuts to critical services."
Kelly said she sent a letter to members of Kansas’ federal delegation to commend them for supporting the latest coronavirus emergency relief package, which provides economic support for small businesses, hospitals and COVID-19 testing capacity. The letter also conveys the urgent need for additional federal support in the form of direct, flexible state aid.
“Although federal aid made available up to this point will enhance Kansas’ immediate coronavirus response efforts, it lacks the flexibility necessary to adequately meet the needs of Kansas communities for the duration of this pandemic,” Kelly said in the letter. “COVID-19 will continue to impose unprecedented economic and public health challenges for at least another 12 to 18 months, and I write to urge your support for additional relief in the form of direct state aid.”
Kelly said it is critical to understand that the $1 billion budget shortfall Kansas faces today as a result of the coronavirus is far different than what happened as a result of the Great Recession, which resulted in $1 billion worth of cuts.
“Although those cuts were brutal, they occurred gradually. This gave communities time to adapt and prioritize, so they could limit the damage to Kansas families as much as possible,” she said in the letter. “That is not the situation Kansas faces today. Never before has the state confronted such a rapid, steep fiscal drop due to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances.”
Kelly thanked the federal delegation for its work on behalf of the people of Kansas, but expressed that she is gravely concerned that states are prohibited from using COVID-19 relief funds, such as those included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to supplant lost general fund revenue.