Legislative Newsletter - 2020 Session

Newsletter - March 31, 2020

The Coronavirus is a pivotal event in our lives. We’re concerned about our health, our families, and our jobs. Some moments it seems like the coronavirus is 1,000 miles away, then the next moment the virus is in Hugoton, Garden City and the Oklahoma Panhandle. How will we feed our families and keep our families safe?

I don’t have all the answers, but I do have hope and faith for our future. Our State Motto is: “To the Stars Through Difficulty”. In Jeremiah 29:11 God says:
^"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Kansans are resilient. We have survived 9/11, World Wars and the Spanish Flu. We will get through this. I encourage you to wash your hands, practice social distancing, stay at home, and when you do need essentials please shop local. We will get through this together.

Below are some resources and information to help you weather the storm.

Kansas Coronavirus Resource Center: https://www.kansastogether.com/

Unemployment: www.dol.ks.gov

The Kansas Small Business Development Corporation has a good website on help for small business: https://www.kansassbdc.net/covid19

Updates on virus spread in Kansas and best practices toolkit: http://www.kdheks.gov/coronavirus/COVID-19_Resource_Center.htm#undefined

Provisions in Federal government Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (Cares) Act
https://www.forbes.com/sites/leonlabrecque/2020/03/29/the-cares-act-has-passed-here-are-the-highlights/#b5c9b468cd23

Executive Order 20-16 a statewide stay at home order
Email address for questions about your business or job and the Governor’s stay at home executive order: KEFF@ks.gov

Executive Order 20-16

Saturday, Governor Kelly issued Executive Order 20-16 a statewide stay at home order. Kansans will still be able to get outside and go to the grocery store, the doctor or pharmacy, and to work if their job is considered essential. Restaurants can continue to do drive-thru, carry-out and delivery services, and our supply chains for essentials will remain open and fully functional.

An activity is essential if the purpose of the activity is one of the following:

Obtaining food, medicine, and other household necessities;
Performing, or going to or from work at a business or organization to perform, an essential function as identified in the Kansas Essential Function Framework (KEFF)
Seeking medical care.
Caring for children (including daycare or childcare centers), family members, or pets, or caring for a vulnerable person in another location;
Engaging in an outdoor activity, provided individuals maintain a distance of six feet from one another and abide by the 10-person limitation on gathering size.

Nothing in this order prevents families from gathering privately.

The order does not prohibit the conduct of business, government, or other operations or activities through telework, telecommunications, or other work-from-home capabilities. It does not prohibit travel to and from work to pick up equipment or supplies needed for telework or other work-from-home.

Law enforcement officers enforcing this order should use their discretion and consider the totality of the circumstances as they determine appropriate enforcement action.

All individuals performing essential functions authorized by this order must—to the extent possible without significant disruption to essential functions—follow appropriate safety protocols, including maintaining a six-foot distance between individuals and following other directives regarding social distancing, hygiene, and other efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19. Below is a condensed listing of some of the essential services.

Kansas Essential Function Framework (KEFF)

KEFF 100 CONNECT

Operate Core Information Technology Networks
Provide Cable and Internet
Provide Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services
Provide Radio Broadcast Access Network Services (includes Traditional Television)
Provide Satellite, Wireless, Wireline Access Network Services

KEFF 200 DISTRIBUTE

Distribute Electricity
Maintain Supply Chains for Essential Functions and Critical Infrastructure
Transmit Electricity and Materials by Pipeline
Transport Cargo and Passengers by Air, Rail, Vessel, Mass Transit
Transport Cargo and Passengers by Road
1. Operate or maintain gas stations and associated convenience stores and restaurants (but only as takeout or delivery)
2. Deliver mail, packages, food, groceries, beverages, or other cargo (this applies to transportation by air, rail or vessel as well)
3. Manufacture, distribute, sell, or maintain automobiles or automobile parts
4. Transport farm equipment, supplies, seed, and personnel to farming operations

KEFF 300 MANAGE

Conduct Elections
Operate Media Outlets
Develop and Maintain Public Works and Support Services for Essential Functions
Educate and Train Essential Functions Personnel
Enforce Law
Maintain Access to Medical Records
Manage Hazardous Materials and Waste
Manage Wastewater
Operate Government
1. Perform government contracts
2. Operate public and private schools to the extent allowed by other executive orders, including Executive Order 20-07, and under direction of the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, and Kansas Board of Regents.
3. Perform the essential operations of State, county, and municipal governments
Prepare for and Manage Emergencies
Preserve Constitutional or Legal Rights
1. Manufacture or sell firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition
2. Perform or attend religious or faith-based services or activities
3. Perform legal services
Provide and Maintain Critical Infrastructure
1. Construct or repair roads
2. Construct, maintain, or clean buildings
3. Produce or distribute construction materials
4. Maintain specialized manufacturing or industrial equipment
Provide Capital Markets and Investment Activities
1. Perform accounting services
Provide Consumer and Commercial Banking Services
Provide Funding and Liquidity Services
Provide Insurance Services
Provide Medical Care and Services, Including Mortuary Services
1. Provide pharmaceutical services
2. Provide funeral or memorial services
Provide Payment, Clearing and Settlement Services
Provide Public Safety
Store Fuel and Maintain Reserves
Support Community Health and Mental Health Services
1. Operate laundry services

KEFF 400 SUPPLY

Exploration and Extraction of Fuels
Fuel Refining, Processing Fuels, Producing and delivering propane and natural gas
Generate Electricity
Produce and Provide Agricultural Products and Services
1. Manufacture or maintain agricultural equipment
2. Manufacture or distribute agricultural supplies such as seeds and chemicals
3. Raise, process, or distribute poultry, livestock, or other animals for human consumption
4. Prepare, till, plant, maintain, or harvest grains, fruits, or vegetables
Produce and Provide Human and Animal Food Products and Services
1. Manufacture or process food or food products
2. Prepare or serve meals for takeout or delivery
3. Sell groceries, including alcoholic beverages (not for on-site consumption)
Produce Chemicals
Provide Metals and Materials
Provide Housing
1. Operate or maintain rental property
2. Operate or maintain student housing
3. Operate or maintain long-term care or senior living facilities
4. Construct, supply, clean, or maintain single family homes or other housing
5. Provide real estate services
6. Operate or maintain housing shelters or charities
7. Operate or maintain animal shelters
8. Operate or maintain hotels or motels
Provide Information Technology Products and Services
Supply Water

Constituent Services

Please reach out to me any time I can assist you with a state agency concern. I do ask that you send the request to me by email. This ensures that I get the information correctly to the agency we are working with. You can reach me when I’m in Topeka by email Shannon.francis@house.ks.gov, by phone (785) 296-7466, or by mail at 300 SW 10^th Avenue, 274-W, Topeka, KS 66612. My office at the Capitol is 274W, second floor west wing.