The bill proposes to repeal the existing section 442.055 of Missouri law and replace it with a new section that addresses the disclosure requirements related to contamination of premises with radioactive or hazardous materials. Under the new provisions, owners, sellers, landlords, or other transferors of properties that are currently rented, leased, sold, transferred, or conveyed must disclose in writing to prospective or current lessees, purchasers, or transferees if the premises has been contaminated, provided they have empirical knowledge of such contamination. Failure to disclose this information, when the party had knowledge, will result in a class A misdemeanor. The definition of "knowledge" is updated to require written or electronic communication from a governmental agency regarding contamination. Additionally, the bill introduces new rights for lessees, allowing them to terminate their lease without cost if they discover that the owner or transferor failed to disclose known contamination. It also mandates that if a governmental agency requests access to test for contamination, the owner must inform prospective or current lessees of this request. Furthermore, if a state agency is aware of contamination at a residential property, it is required to notify the current resident within thirty days.

Statutes affected:
Introduced (6735H.01): 442.055