Kansas Inc. soon could be out of work.

The quasi-governmental agency, formed in the late 1980s to advise officials about economic-development issues and programs, would be disbanded under a bill approved Wednesday by the Kansas Senate.

The bill would shift the agency’s work to the Kansas Department of Revenue and other state operations.

News of the bill making its way to the Kansas House didn’t sit well with Donna Johnson, a Kansas Inc. board member and president and chief executive officer of Pinnacle Technology Inc. in Lawrence.

Without having Kansas Inc. to compile research reports and crunch numbers, she said, such responsibilities would be left to agencies that would have a more direct interest in their success.

One of Kansas Inc.’s statutory responsibilities is to gauge the effectiveness of tax credits, she said, and tax credits are administered through the Department of Revenue — the same department that would be gauging their effectiveness, should the bill be approved by the House and signed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

“This is a major setback,” Johnson said. “If you want some independent oversight of programs that are put out there, you need to have it a little more independent.”

Kansas Inc. has had trouble gathering information about tax credits, Johnson said, because tax information for individual corporations is considered confidential.

The bill’s passage comes as Kansas Inc. looks to hire a new president to replace Jerry Lonergan, who is leaving the post April 1.

Members of the board already have interviewed one candidate, she said, but the process is moving slowly.

“It’s definitely creating problems on the job search,” Johnson said.