TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are moving to give unemployed workers an extra 10 weeks of benefits and allow them to start collecting the relief a week earlier than normal.
The House commerce committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would allow people who’ve filed for unemployment benefits since Jan. 1 until April 1, 2021, to receive 26 weeks of benefits instead of the 16 weeks now allowed.
The bill also would eliminate the weeklong waiting period for jobless workers before they receive their first check.
Legislators started discussing such changes after aircraft parts supplier Spirit AeroSystems announced plans to lay off more than 2,800 workers, or more than 20% of its Kansas workforce, mostly in Wichita, where it is the largest employer. But lawmakers also anticipate other layoffs because of the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.
The committee’s action sent the bill to the full House for debate, with a vote there and in the Senate expected quickly. Lawmakers are trying to wrap up some key task so that they can take an early and long spring break in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
