LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has signed a law to require carbon monoxide detectors in many new homes, starting in 2017.

The new law approved on Wednesday will require the detectors in any residence sold, rented or issued a building permit on or after Jan. 1, 2017.

Sen. Sara Howard of Omaha has said she introduced the measure in response to past carbon monoxide deaths and close calls.

The city of Wahoo became one of the first in Nebraska to require detectors in 2006, after a father and son died in their home from poisoning.

Carbon monoxide has no color, smell or taste, and produces symptoms often mistaken for the flu.