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U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced today that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. SBA’s EIDL portal will reopen today as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation, signed into law by the President one week ago, provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers and certain other agricultural businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. “For more than 30 years, SBA has been prohibited by law from providing...

This evening, Governor Laura Kelly issued executive guidance on her six-week plan to re-open the state of Kansas amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan begins with Monday's expiration of her statewide stay-at-home order. The four-phase plan includes rapid, wide-scale testing capabilities to identify who has been infected before they unknowingly spread the disease. The state plans to recruit and train 400 new workers for a robust contact tracing program. Each phase of the plan, outlined below, would last a minimum of 14 days but could be extended by the state if the virus unexpectedly...

Renew Kansas applauds Congressman Roger Marshall (R-Kan. // 1st District) for teaming up with U.S. Representatives Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa), Angie Craig (D-Ill.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) to introduce the Clean Fuels Deployment Act. The legislation authorized $500 million over five years for the Department of Transportation to provide grants that will incentivize the deployment of fueling infrastructure for ethanol and biodiesel, with a focus on ethanol blends greater than 10 percent and biodiesel blends greater than 20 percent. “During this uncertain time, this proposal demonstrates leadership and vision for Kansas and our nation’s...

SBA PPP Accepting & Limiting Loan Applications The U.S. Small Business Agency (SBA) will begin taking loan applications today at 9:30 am for its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Click here to read why the SBA is limiting how much in loans a lender can process. Click here to read what you need to know about the PPP's second round. Governor Kelly Expected to Release Plan to Re-open Kansas Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is expected early this week to release her plan to reopen the state as the COVID-19 begins to ease. Click here to...

Colwich, KS, April 27, 2020: That is the conclusion of a new peer reviewed technical paper published in the Journal of Air & Waste Management, validating previous research efforts by the Urban Air Initiative that find when ethanol is added to gasoline, it significantly reduces toxic emissions tied to air pollution. The research team leading this effort included notable refinery and fuel emission experts who looked at hundreds of earlier studies on emissions and ethanol. A glaring error, according to the authors, is that these studies assume a standard fuel is created for testing...

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives followed the Senate's vote on Tuesday to pass the fourth COVID-19 response bill aimed to shore up funding for small businesses hurt by the global pandemic. This relief package included funding for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, as well as for hospitals and testing. Here is the complete breakdown: Total cost: $484.352 billion $311 billion for small businesses $60 billion for emergency disaster funds for small businesses $75 billion for hospitals $25 billion for testin The latest...

On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) of the Kansas Legislature met to discuss the possible reconvening of the legislature, An adjournment resolution (Senate Concurrent Resolution 1615) passed by the legislature prior to its March 19th adjournment, calls for the legislature to return for final legislative work on April 27th. However, the resolution also allows the LCC to meet and call lawmakers back at a later date if the LCC determines “it is necessary to the security and health and safety of the pubic, legislative staff and legislators."...

For the past several weeks, National Grain and Feed Association has been working intensely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the FEMA Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force to prioritize the needs of the food and agriculture sector for access to available personal protection equipment (PPE), as well as disinfectants and sanitation supplies, to protect the health and safety of employees within the sector and to retain consumer confidence. Today, we are pleased to report that the discussions with the Supply Chain Stabilization Task...

Last week, the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a set of answers to frequently asked questions regarding State Driver Licensing Agencies and commercial driver’s license holders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This information may be helpful to members as it relates to retention of current drivers and the licensing of new seasonal drivers. The FAQ’s specifically address HAZMAT endorsements and skills tests for new drivers. This guidance document does not have the force and effect of law and is not meant to bind the public in anyway. This guidance is...

In March, the Legislature passed a budget for the remainder of fiscal year ’20 (through June 30) and for fiscal year 2021. At the time, the state’s ending balance June 30 would have been $927 million, and was projected to be $730 million at the end of 2021. On Monday, April 20th, the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group (CRE) met and provided an updated estimate on state revenue. The Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, or CRE, is composed of representatives of the Division of the Budget, Dept. of Revenue, Legislative Research Dept., and...

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