Topeka ? Gov. Sam Brownback on Monday signed into law two bills sought by universities.

House Bill 2544 will allow Kansas to join a regional group of states that would establish standards for online courses and automatically authorize the member states to deliver distance education courses in each state.

House Bill 2470 will allow the universities to purchase property insurance from companies that haven’t been admitted to do business in the state. Purchasing from “non-admitted” carriers would increase the number of potential insurers and lower costs, the bill’s supporters said. Higher education officials said they believed safeguards were in place for the schools to avoid purchasing risky policies.