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Capitol Update: March 4, 2019

By Missouri REALTOR Party posted 03-04-2019 02:11 PM

  
Missouri REALTORS®,

Great news! All House and Senate Bills are filed. Thursday, February 28, was the last day to introduce Senate Bills, and the House allowed filing until Friday, March 1.

So you are aware, legislators will wait until close to the deadline to introduce a bill in an effort to test reaction. They will also do so because a constituent has asked them to introduce legislation to address a particular issue. Being said, legislation brought forward must be taken seriously, especially if they are significantly detrimental to an industry or the consumer.

For example, SB 500, introduced by Senator Burlison, would allow an unlicensed person to undertake work that requires a state license so long as the unlicensed person discloses to the public they are not licensed. In other words, if a person wanted to open an unlicensed real estate company, they would be able to do so as long as they posted on the premises that they are not licensed and/or give each potential client/customer a disclosure as outlined in the act.

Note, the act does not extend to health care providers. It specifically lists occupations in human healthcare the proposal does not cover.
  • The House Committee on Judiciary heard HB 106, immunity for real estate licensees relating to reporting area or square footage on Tuesday, February 26. SB 36 (same subject matter) passed the Senate and has been second read in the House.

  • Representative Jeff Porter introduced HB 1066; licensing of home inspectors. Representative Porter is a REALTOR® from Montgomery City.

  • Representative Raychel Proudie of Ferguson filed HB 1007, extending the requirement that LLC’s provide the name and address of a natural person to the County of St. Louis. 

Lastly, the House Special Committee on Small Business heard HB 899 on February 27 which was introduced by Hardy Billington of Poplar Bluff. Currently, in landlord tenant actions, defendants have 10 days from the date of a judgment to file a motion to set aside judgment, or request for a new trial. This bill reduces that time to five days. There was compelling testimony, complete with pictures of the damage from a property owner in Poplar Bluff. This is a small but useful step in getting property back to the owners.

Looking forward to next week’s Capitol Update, we have a hearing which takes place tonight, March 4, on HB 665 regarding Low-Income Housing and Tax Credits (LIHTC). In addition, we may have an executive session tomorrow, March 5, on HB 106; Immunity for real estate licensees reporting information about the area or square footage of a property they obtain from a source other than themselves or the seller of the property.

Sam Licklider
Chief Lobbyist, Missouri REALTORS®

 

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