The Kansas Department of Commerce has announced that the Rural Opportunity Zones (ROZ) program will expand during Fiscal Year 2014. The expanded program will include 23 additional counties approved to participate in ROZ by the Kansas Legislature during the 2013 session.

In 2011, Gov. Sam Brownback and the Legislature established the ROZ program in 50 counties as a means of countering the rural flight that has caused many Kansas counties to lose population over the past several decades. The ROZ program allows qualifying individuals who move to a ROZ county to have their state income taxes waived for up to five years. In addition, counties that opt to partner with the state may offer student loan repayments of up to $15,000.

Grant and Gray counties, two of the newly designated ROZ counties, have already voted to partner with the state in the student loan repayment program.

Since July 2011, the Department has received 864 applications for participation in the student loan repayment program from residents of 39 states. Applicants represent a wide variety of industries, with education and healthcare as the two largest professions.

The following counties have been certified by the Legislature as ROZ counties (italicized counties are 2013 additions):

Allen, Anderson, Barber, Bourbon, Brown, Chase, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Decatur, Doniphan, Edwards, Elk, Ellsworth, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Marion, Marshall, Meade, Mitchell, Morris, Morton, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rawlins, Republic, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Trego, Thomas, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Wilson and Woodson.