Department News GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
Missouri General Assembly Marks Halfway Point By David Kent, Vice President of Legislative and Advocacy Programming
it is remarkable that the Missouri General Assembly has been Each chamber has missed a week of session, although for different reasons. Te House canceled in January out of concern for COVID-19 while the Senate canceled in mid-February for inclement weather. For the most part, session has been relatively normal considering.
Te first bill to be approved by legislators and enacted into law will help provide financial relief to tenants and landlords affected by COVID-19. House Bill 16, signed Feb. 11 by Gov. Mike Parson, provides more than $320 million in funding for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Assistance is available for up to 12 months for rental arrears, forward rental assistance, utility arrears and utility forward assistance. Utility assistance includes electricity, gas, water and sewer, trash removal and certain other energy costs. Both landlords and tenants are eligible to apply for assistance through the program. Te Missouri Housing Development Commission will administer the ERAP in Missouri. For additional information and the application portal, visit
mohousingresources.com.
By now everyone should have received information on MBA’s Target Banker Program. Out of an abundance of caution for both you and your staff, we decided to offer alternative options to communicate industry priorities to legislators this year. Rather than visiting your lawmakers inside the Missouri Capitol, we ask that you contact them via email or phone or a meeting at your bank or elsewhere in your community.
Bills supported by MBA include residential PACE reforms (House Bill 697, House Bill 814 and Senate Bill 105), bank code modernization (House Bill 928 and Senate Bill 106), updates to the Uniform Commercial Code (House Bill 518 and Senate Bill 359) and reforms to the consumer loan act (House Bill 571 and Senate Bill 385). MBA staff will provide talking points on these bills for you and a separate sheet to share with legislators. We also will help facilitate meetings if necessary. We encourage everyone to contact your lawmakers to ask for their support of MBA-supported legislation.
Lastly, a big thank you to the members of the MBA’s Legislative Affairs Committee. Te committee met in late February to review bills moving through the General Assembly and continues to provide feedback as the session progresses. We appreciate the committee members’ efforts, discussion and direction on legislation.
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mobankers.com
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