Kansas Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine is giving the state good marks for its response to coronavirus.
The 17th District Senator from Emporia joined KVOE’s Newsmaker 2 segment Tuesday. Longbine says Governor Laura Kelly has been prudent with her actions, including a series of executive orders over the past four weeks.
Like Governor Kelly and 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber, Longbine anticipates financial pain coming soon. Longbine says the state had strong monthly revenues for over a year and a strong ending balance, which could help the state get through the end of the fiscal year in June along with federal stimulus money.
With the crush of people calling the Department of Labor for information about jobless benefits and questions about job resources overall, Longbine encouraged residents to use the state’s online resources for unemployment benefits through the Department of Labor at www.getkansasbenefits.gov or the Commerce Department’s COVID-19 Jobs and Hiring Portal at www.kansasworks.com/coronavirus.
Longbine’s not optimistic the Legislature will reconvene April 27 as scheduled with the peak of coronavirus expected around that time. However, he says lawmakers could still finish their business if the session resumes in early May.
76th District Representative Eric Smith of Burlington is the Newsmaker 2 guest Wednesday. 51st District Representative Ron Highland of Wamego closes down the series during the Newsmaker 2 segment at 8:40 am Thursday following the ESU Buzz.
