Missouri REALTORS®,
There are two weeks left in this session of the General Assembly. We’ve been dealing with several issues; it mostly comes down to the last two weeks.
Foreign Ownership of Agriculture Land
This issue has passed both chambers in somewhat different forms and is going to a conference committee (When bills pass each house with significant differences, a conference committee consisting of five members of each body, selected by the presiding officer, is directed to attempt to work out the differences and report back to their respective bodies.) The Senate version prohibits the sale of agricultural land to non-resident aliens or foreign businesses. Missouri REALTORS® opposed it. Having the government tell you whom you can sell your property to is a bad idea. HB 903 passed the Senate with only three dissenting votes, Sen. Justin Brown, Sen. Lincoln Hough, and Sen. Sandy Crawford. To those three, thank you.
Eviction Moratorium
There are two bills dealing with the issue of eviction moratorium. HB 730 and SB 222 prohibit any county, municipality, or political subdivision from imposing or enforcing a moratorium on eviction proceedings unless specifically authorized by state law. Both bills have crossed chambers and have been acted on in the other body. As always, we will look for other vehicles to pass this legislation.
Land Banks
HB 587 has passed the House and passed out of the Senate Committee on Emerging Issues. Several members of the Senate have issues with the bill, and we are working diligently to address them.
Initiative Petition Reform
The Senate passed Senate Substitute for House Committee Substitute for HJR 43 (Initiative Petition Reform) last week. To become effective, an initiative must either achieve a majority of the vote statewide and a majority in five of the eight congressional districts or pass statewide by 57%. The House version simply requires a 60% vote to pass an initiative. The Senate bill contains other extremely problematic provisions, including language that may allow a court that finds unconstitutional language in a previously enacted constitutional change to void the entire provision.
Earlier this year, the Advocacy Mission Committee adopted Policy Statement 7C, which states, “Missouri REALTORS® supports the current initiative petition process. We believe that any changes that limit the ability of the citizens of this state to be directly involved in their government must be both measured and minimal. We will carefully monitor the progress of any proposals before the General Assembly and take such action as is necessary to protect this important right.”
After a meeting with some of the House leadership, we were asked to consider taking a neutral position if the percentage was changed from 60% to 55% or 54%. I took this request to our CEO, and she set up a meeting of the Leadership Team. At that meeting, the LT authorized your lobbying team to agree to be neutral if the percentage for passage of a Constitutional Amendment by the initiative was 54%, based on a review of other proposals before the General Assembly. We conveyed to legislators that this position was valid for this year only, that we reserved the right to take a different position in the next session of the General Assembly, and that it did not preclude the Association from acting on other changes to the process that may be brought forth this year.
With just two weeks left of the session, it is unclear if we will be able to arrive at a proposal that is either measured or minimal. Stayed tuned! I will provide updates as time allows. More information regarding our General Policies can be found on our REALTOR® Days & Legislative Visit Resources page.
As always, if you have any questions, please contact me or Erin Hervey at erin@morealtor.com.
Sincerely,
Sam Licklider
Chief Lobbyist, Missouri REALTORS®