SPONSOR: Mayhew
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass with HCS" by the Standing Committee on Rural Community Development by a vote of 16 to 0. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Legislative Oversight by a vote of 10 to 0.
The following is a summary of the House Committee Substitute for HB 339.
Currently, the Attorney General must reside in Jefferson City. This bill repeals that requirement.
The bill also provides that, for a city of the fourth classification with no more than 2,000 inhabitants, if a statute or ordinance authorizes the mayor to appoint a member of a local board or commission, any requirement that the appointed person be a resident of the city will be deemed satisfied if the person owns real property or a business in the city, regardless of whether the position to which the appointment is made is considered an officer of the city.
The bill also provides that, for a city of the fourth classification with no more than 2,000 inhabitants, if a statute or ordinance authorizes the mayor to appoint a member of a board that manages a municipal utility, any requirement that the appointed person be a resident of the city will be deemed satisfied only if the following conditions are met:
(1) The board has no authority to set utility rates or to issue bonds;
(2) The person resides within five miles of the city limits;
(3) The person owns real property or a business in the city;
(4) The person or the person's business is a customer of a public utility, as described under Section 91.450, RSMo managed by the board; and
(5) The person has no pecuniary interest in, and is not a board member of, any utility company that offers the same type of service as a utility managed by the board.
This bill is similar to HB 1602 (2020).
The following is a summary of the public testimony from the committee hearing. The testimony was based on the introduced version of the bill.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that often it is hard to get city residents to serve on these boards and with vacancies it is hard to get a quorum to conduct business. This bill would allow for people who have an vested interest but do not live in the city to serve on the boards.
Testifying for the bill were Representative Mayhew. Additional written testimony was submitted in support of the bill.
OPPONENTS: Written testimony was submitted in opposition to the bill.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: