Overland Park ? Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation aimed at providing health insurance coverage of services for hundreds of children with autism, starting next year.

Brownback had a signing ceremony Wednesday at the satellite University of Kansas campus in Overland Park, the home for an autism research center. Local legislators and parents who supported requiring health coverage for the treatment of childhood autism see the new law as a first step.

The law will require group health plans for companies with 51 or more employees to provide coverage for services for children under 12, starting next year. Other health plans would be required to provide coverage starting in 2016.

Some children could receive coverage for up to 1,300 hours a year of specialized behavioral therapy.