(AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders are allowing the Kansas Board of Nursing to hire two additional investigators to help it regulate a growing number of nurses.

The plan approved Monday will cost the state an additional $148,000 a year. The board will cover the cost from regulatory fees it already collects from nurses.

The board now has five investigators. Executive Administrator Mary Blubaugh said the board has seen investigators’ average caseloads grow from 240 to 455 since 2007.

Blubaugh said Kansas has about 64,000 nurses, an increase of more than 12,000 since 2007.

She said the new investigators will help the board get closer to its goal of closing 80 percent of its cases within nine months, instead of the current 40 percent.