Missouri REALTORS®,
It was another busy week in Jefferson City with PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) legislation being the main topic of conversation. The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions stated, “Local governments use these programs to help property owners finance renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements on residential and commercial properties.” Thus far, 31 states have adopted both Commercial and Residential PACE programs. To date, two have opted into commercial while Louisiana has repealed the program.
This past week, the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections heard testimony on SB 173. Introduced by Senator Sandy Crawford, this bill attempts to add consumer protections and regulation to the PACE industry. *Note, I had a limited role in the proceedings. I merely informed the committee that Missouri REALTORS® supported the bill and believes reasonable consumer protection measures, coupled with some modest regulatory reform, would improve the program.
Regarding testimony of SB 173 - the two best witnesses (comments from other supporters of the reform) were Missouri REALTORS® members, Isabelle Jimenez Walker, and Todd Thomas. Isabelle had asked me to keep her informed on the progress of the PACE legislation, including the time and location of hearings. Unfortunately, Isabelle was unable to attend the House hearing due to her previous commitment of attendance at the President’s Circle Conference. However, Isabelle was able to attend this hearing. I was not in attendance due to a separate hearing but reports of the testimony Isabelle and Todd delivered were uniformly positive - at least from supporters of the bill.
As for additional discussion in the General Assembly, I expect the pace to pick back up at the conclusion of Spring Break. To date, the House has sent less than 70 bills to the Senate (last year it was nearly 160), while the Senate is on track with the previous year. For clarification, I am not equating bill passage with accomplishment. Both houses have taken up some problematic issues.
And lastly, the House Committee on Economic Development has scheduled an executive session on HB 665; Representative David Gregory’s low-income housing tax credit proposal. It is expected to be a House Committee Substitute and so far, few, if any, have seen the proposed changes. It would be better to have an executive session after the stakeholders have had a reasonable opportunity to look at the changes and make a thoughtful analysis. In this type of situation, the default response is ‘NO’, and that’s not particularly helpful. Everyone realizes some change is needed, but if you have a significant difference, it’s better to give everyone some time to think rather than react.
As a reminder, this week is Spring Break for the Missouri General Assembly. For that reason, there will be no report next week.
Sam Licklider
Chief Lobbyist, Missouri REALTORS®