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Week Four of the Kansas Legislative Session This week brought continued discussions in multiple committees on the issue of fraud on the Kansas state unemployment fund. It is thought that fraudulent claims paid-out over the last year could be as high as $400 million. Regarding the total number of new unemployment claims, Kansas is second only to the state of Illinois. Governor Laura Kelly has budgeted money for IT system upgrades for the Kansas Dept. of Labor (KDOL) in order to respond to the problem, and legislation has been introduced to...

Governor Laura Kelly announced the launch of the "Find My Vaccine" mapping tool to assist in location of sites administering COVID-19 vaccines in Kansas. The page recommends Kansans in vaccine phase 1 and 2 use the tool to find providers offering the vaccine. To view the page, visit: https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/160/Find-My-Vaccine The governor stated vaccines may not be available yet at certain sites included on the map, but wanted the public to be aware of the tool. The website includes statistics, safety, availability, providers and much more. A frequently asked questions section also contains answers...

Legislative Session, Week Three Many new bills were introduced and heard by committees in the third week of the Kansas legislative session. The House and Senate also continued hearings on the status of the Kansas unemployment insurance fund, attempting to find answers on the amount of fraud against the fund and how the program might buoyed. On Friday evening, Governor Laura Kelly appointed Amber Schultz as the new Secretary of Labor. Schultz, pending confirmation from the Senate, steps into the position with the need to update the Kansas Department of Labor’s 40-year-old...

Kansas Dept. of Labor has reported 1099-G forms have been mailed to all claimants who received unemployment benefits in 2020. If you received a 1099-G form for a claim that you did not receive payment for due to identity theft, you can fill out a request on the KDOL Self-Service Portal under “1099 Protest/Dispute”, making sure to check the box for “I want to dispute my 1099” and upload an Unsworn Declaration to declare you did not receive the benefits that were stated on your 1099-G form issued from the Kansas Department of Labor. You can...

Renew Kansas Biofuels Association's comment to EPA to amend the Kansas State Implementation Plan (SIP) to allow for year-round sales of E15 fuel in Kansas City has now been submitted (via Regulations.gov) on the “Kansas Air Plan Approval; Removal of Kansas City, Kansas Reid Vapor Pressure Requirement”. You can find the proposal, and submit comments, here: Regulations.gov - Docket Folder Summary (Docket No. EPA-R07-OAR-2020-0711) Renew Kansas' comment, available via the button to the left, will be viewable on Regulations.gov once EPA has reviewed it. Use our tracking number to find the status...

Legislative Session, Week Two Security issues with the capitol building caused a slow-down of activity for a couple of days during a week which also saw a flood of new bills introduced on dozens of issues. Many of these bills were being given new life following the shortened session last year. Of note this week, was the quick passage, by both the Senate and the House, of a bill extending the current emergency declaration under the Kansas Emergency Management Act (KEMA). That bill will be advanced to the Governor for review....

Renew Kansas Biofuels Association has been working to amend Kansas and Missouri State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to allow for year-round sales of E15 fuel in Kansas City. The Kansas SIP Amendment Proposal for the Kansas City area has now been published in the Federal Register, and the 30-day comment period on the proposal will close on February 18th. The comment period on the Missouri Proposal will close on January 22nd. To date, EPA has received no comment on the Missouri proposal. SUBMIT COMMENTS...

Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment has launched a website dedicated strictly to COVID-19 vaccination information. The website includes statistics, safety, availability, providers and much more. A frequently asked questions section also contains answers to many different inquiries. Anyone wishing to gather more information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in Kansas, visit https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/....

EPA has formally proposed to extend 2019 RFS compliance deadlines for small refineries, following up on an announcement by Administrator Andrew Wheeler before the March 2020 deadline. Only small refineries would receive the 2019 extension; the new compliance deadline would be November 30, 2021. EPA also proposes to extend the 2020 RFS compliance deadline for all obligated parties to January 31, 2022. The attest engagement deadline under the proposal for both years would fall on June 1, 2022. EPA has scheduled a virtual public hearing on this proposal for Tuesday February 9,...

2021 Legislative Session Commences The Kansas legislature gaveled in on Monday, January 11, 2021, and your association’s government affairs staff was at the capitol monitoring and weighing in on bills affecting our industry. It was a busy week in Topeka which saw the swearing in of new members following the 2020 elections, a virtual State of the State address by Governor Laura Kelly, and the introduction of many new bills. Heading into the session, several controversial issues have been gearing up for prime time. The Senate started off quickly out of the gate, passing...

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