Kansans will have to pay their second-half property taxes a month earlier under a measure signed Wednesday morning by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

Officials said collecting taxes early will help the state meet its financial commitments throughout the rest of the year.

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“Without the accelerator, our reserves would be too low,” Sebelius said in a press release. “My decision protects school budgets and social services from mid-year cuts,”

The action will provide a one-time benefit of $179 million to the state general fund.

Officials said that county treasurers have been contacted with changes to the timetable for second-half tax collections. That timetable was not immediately available Wednesday morning.

For more on this story, see the 6News report at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. and pick up a copy of Thursday’s Journal-World.