Last week the House Committee on General Laws heard testimony on HB 608 and HB 632.
HB 608 was introduced to limit the ability of political subdivisions to regulate short term rentals but appears to create more questions than answers. With so many interests involved getting a complete prohibition may be impossible. It’s probably better to have no bill than one with so many unanswered questions. There was significant opposition to the bill, Missouri REALTORS remarks in opposition were presented by our President Ryan Gattermeir.
HB 632 is intended to solve the problem created by the Shipman vs. Dominion Hospitality case, that case found that if someone made a property available for a short-term rental, under 31 days, it must be assessed as commercial property. There was a brief explanation of the issue by members of the State Tax Commission as well as testimony in support.
HB 563, First-Time Homebuyer Savings Account has been voted out of committee with only one vote in opposition. There were several amendments offered, most of them technical but one sought to make certain that the account was not used improperly and requires that the buyer remains in the property for at least two years. That amendment needs some work and there will be an opportunity to correct it during the debate.
Sen. Caleb Rowden has introduced SB 444 which is based on HB 563, it's always useful to have a companion bill, especially on a subject like this one.
Thanks to a grant from NAR, and Erin Hervey's hard work on the grant application, there will be advertisements in Missouri Times, a local, focused on state government, weekly paper as well as Facebook ads urging support for the bill. The internet based ads will focus on a limited number of legislators so don't be disappointed if you don't see one.