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Counties adopt Rural Opportunity Zones resolutionsKansas Lane, Rooks, Russell, Scott and Woodson counties adopted Rural Opportunity Zones resolutions recently, becoming full partners in the state's effort to revitalize rural areas of Kansas. "I congratulate the county commissions and economic development partners in Lane, Rooks, Russell, Scott and Woodson counties," said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George. "These counties are in the vanguard of our efforts to recruit more people into rural Kansas and expand economic growth, which is a top priority for the Brownback administration." With the adoption of the resolutions, individuals who move to one of these counties after July 1 can qualify to have 20 percent of their student loans repaid (up to $3,000 per year for up to five years) by the county and state, if the individuals graduated from an accredited post-secondary institution. The five counties join Kingman County, which joined the ROZs program on May 31. Official application forms will be available from the Department of Commerce on or before July 1. More information on the program can be found at KansasCommerce.com/RuralOpportunityZones or by contacting Dan Lara, Public Information Officer for the Department at 785-296-3760 or dlara@kansascommerce.com. The ROZs program also provides a state income tax exemption for up to five years to individuals who relocate to a ROZs county from out of state. Counties do not need to opt in for individuals to participate in this portion of the program. The program designates 50 counties as ROZs counties. They are Barber, Chautauqua, Cheyenne, Clark, Cloud, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Elk, Gove, Graham, Greeley, Greenwood, Hamilton, Harper, Hodgeman, Jewell, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Mitchell, Morton, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Pawnee, Phillips, Pratt, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stafford, Stanton, Trego, Thomas, Wallace, Washington, Wichita, Wilson and Woodson.
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