SPONSOR: Violet
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions by a vote of 12 to 0.
Currently, municipal clerks are required to keep at least three copies of the published book of the general ordinances of the municipality on file in the office of the clerk and available for inspection by the public.
This bill allows municipal clerks to keep only one copy of the published book of the general ordinances on file if the ordinances are also available online for inspection without cost by the public.
This bill is similar to HB 802 (2025).
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this is a simple cost-saving bill. Many municipalities post codes online. Reducing from three required physical copies to one saves money. There are 944 municipalities operating in the State right now. By reducing the responsibility from three to one, the cities, towns, and villages would save both money and time. This is about easing the requirements of hardworking clerks. A set of codes often costs around $1,500. That money could be spent better elsewhere. Previously, a person building a home could go use the hard copy at city hall, but that’s less necessary with the development of the internet.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Violet; Missouri Municipal League; and Arnie Dienoff.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: