On December 21, 2022, the State Finance Council approved a total of $374 million in COVID-19 relief funds for broadband infrastructure and adoption, the modernization and improvement of government services, economic development, and health and education initiatives recommended by the Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) Executive Committee. 

The SPARK Executive Committee met on December 20 to consider program design proposals for COVID-19 relief funding recommended by the committee in September. The Executive Committee reviewed the proposals and recommended programming to distribute $374 million in federal coronavirus relief funds allocated to Kansas through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of March 2021. 

The portfolio of approved funding includes competitive grant programs in the four SPARK Advisory Panel areas: Connectivity, Efficiency and Modernization, Health and Education, and Economic Revitalization. 

An overview of approved programs is available on the Office of Recovery’s website. 

Additional details on these competitive funding opportunities, including information on the timeline and process to apply for funding through these programs, will be forthcoming from administering agencies by the end of February.  

Per the SPARK Executive Committee’s recommendations, these competitive grant programs will be open to all eligible entities regardless of whether they previously provided an idea submission to SPARK or not.  

Those that previously submitted an idea submission to the SPARK process will be eligible to apply for funding through these programs and will be notified of funding opportunities relevant to their proposal once that information is available.   

In the meantime, please keep an eye out for program updates from the Office of Recovery and administering State Agencies. 

The Kansas Department of Commerce’s Office of Broadband Development has announced that $44.5 million will be awarded to nine service providers to extend high-speed internet to 18,468 locations in 15 underserved counties across the state. This is the third and final award phase of the Kansas Capital Project Funds (CPF) Broadband Infrastructure Program.  

The CPF program provides funding to make broadband connections in critical areas of the state that lack access to high-speed internet. The $83.5 million total CPF investment, combined with almost $42 million in matching funds, will result in more than 24,500 homes, businesses, schools, health care facilities, and other public institutions being connected to fast, reliable internet for the first time.  

The targeted counties have as few as five locations per square mile, which until now has prevented providers from investing the resources needed to deliver a quality broadband option. The CPF Grant Program provides the funding needed to implement high-speed broadband in these areas of the state.   

Demonstrating the need and critical nature of the program, the Kansas Office of Broadband Development received 141 applications for projects totaling more than $600 million. A total of 24 projects were funded.   

The grant program resulted from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s approval of Kansas’ Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) broadband infrastructure plan. The federal CPF program is a $10 billion capital project initiative available to states, territories, and tribal governments under the American Rescue Plan Act.   

Additional details on these competitive funding opportunities, including information on the timeline and process to apply for funding through these programs, will be forthcoming from administering agencies by the end of February.  

Those that previously submitted an idea submission to the SPARK process will be notified of funding opportunities relevant to their proposal once that information is available.  

Programs approved through the SPARK process that are currently open for application include: 

• Building a Stronger Economy (BASE) 2.0 - www.kansascommerce.gov/basegrant/
  

COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Funding Is Still Available

In June 2022, bipartisan House Bill 2136 was signed into law, investing $50 million to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program is still available to provide financial assistance to certain businesses impacted by COVID-19 related shutdowns and restrictions during tax years 2020 and 2021.    

The COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program is funded through the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which requires a federal Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) to be completed for a business to be eligible to receive assistance.  

The UEI is issued at no cost through the federal System for Award Management website, SAM.gov.  

Due to recent increases in the number of entities registering with SAM.gov, it may take up to 25 business days for new registrations to be processed.  

For any issues related to registering with SAM.gov or obtaining a UEI, applicants can contact the Federal Service Desk at 866-606-8220.   

Once registration is complete and confirmed, business owners can apply for the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program through an online application created by KDOR. The application provides definitions, explains the assistance process in detail, and specifies exactly what information must be provided and/or submitted in support of the application.  

Applicants with questions regarding the COVID-19 Retail Storefront Property Tax Relief Program can contact the Kansas Department of Revenue at 785-368-8660.    

Small business owners have until April 15, 2023, to apply for this financial assistance.