Property Law

SS#2 SCS HCS HB 89 – Natural resources (See Environmental & Energy Law)

SS#2 SCS HCS HB 111 – Judicial procedures (See Judicial Administration)

SS SCS HB 137 – Conveyances of state property Repeals the authority of the board of governors, regents, or curators of four-year state universities, with the exception of schools within the University of Missouri System, to convey or lease property for fair market value without authorization by the General Assembly. The bill authorizes the Board of Governors of Missouri Western State University to convey or lease property for fair market value without authorization by the General Assembly until August 28, 2014.

The bill also authorizes the Governor to convey numerous state properties.

The bill contains an emergency clause.

(Signed 7/14/11)

CCS SCS HB 142 – Political subdivisions (See Local Government)

SS SCS HB 209 – Nuisance actions Changes the laws regarding county nuisance abatement ordinances, junkyards, and private nuisance actions. (Vetoed 5/2/11)

HCS HB 220 – Real estate licensee liability Currently, a real estate licensee is immune from liability for statements made by certain expert professionals unless the expert was selected and engaged by the licensee, the statement was made by a person employed by the licensee or broker, or the licensee knew that the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard as to whether the statement was true or false.  This bill specifies that the ordering of a report or an inspection alone will not constitute selecting or engaging a person. (Signed 7/7/11)

CCS SS SCS HCS HB 430 – Transportation (See Transportation Law)

CCS SS HB 458 – Agriculture (See Agricultural Law)

SCS HCS HB 506 – Property tax levies Currently, certain school district that levy separate tax rates on the different subclasses of property are required to revise tax rates when there is a tax rate reduction after certain tax revenue calculations.  The bill allows the districts to revise the rates.  If voters approved before January 1, 2011, separate stated tax rates to be applied to the different subclasses of property or increase the separate rates that may be levied on the different subclasses of property by different amounts, the single tax rate calculation must be a blended rate that is to be calculated in the manner specified by law.

Authorizes any political subdivision that approved a tax increase after August 27, 2008, to levy a rate to collect substantially the same amount of tax revenue as would have been collected by applying the voter-approved increased tax rate ceiling to the total assessed valuation of the political subdivision on or before the election date, increased by the percentage increase in the federal Consumer Price Index.

Increases the number of years before a newly constructed residential property which has never been occupied is assessed for property taxation from the second year following the year the construction on the home was completed to the fourth year.  This provision will apply to those counties, including St. Louis City, in which the governing body has previously adopted or hereafter adopts these provisions.

Currently, the owner of record of real property located within a transportation development district without residents is allowed one vote per acre.  The bill allows the owner of record of real property located within a district without residents which was formed as a joint establishment to have one vote per acre. (Signed 7/5/11)

SCS HB 798, HB 141, HB 153, HCS HB 363, HB 415 & HB 813 – Highway and bridge designations This bill renames the Heroes Way Interstate Interchange Designation Program as the Heroes Way Interchange Designation Program and expands the program to include state-numbered highway interchanges.  The bill also designates numerous memorial highways and Bridges. (Signed 7/14/11)

HCS SB 77 – Outdoor advertising and memorial highway designations (See Commercial Law)

HCS#2 SB 96 – Conveyances of state property Authorizes the Board of Regents of Southeast Missouri State University to convey certain university property located in the City of Cape Girardeau to the Cape Area Habitat for Humanity.

Also authorizes the Governor to convey numerous specified state properties and easements to local government entities.  This bill contains an emergency clause. (Signed 7/8/11)

HCS#2 SB 97 – Conveyances of state property Authorizes the Governor to convey several state properties to local government entities.
Also authorizes the Board of Regents of Southeast Missouri State University to convey certain university property located in the City of Cape Girardeau to the Cape Area Habitat for Humanity. (Signed 7/9/11)

SB 101 – Residential contractors (See Commercial Law)

HCS SB 187 – Nuisance actions Changes the laws regarding county nuisance abatement ordinances, junkyards, and private nuisance actions.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Adds the counties of Andrew, Buchanan, Cass, Dade, Jasper, Livingston, and Newton to the list of counties authorized to enact nuisance abatement ordinances regarding the condition of any lot or land in residential subdivisions or districts which may endanger public safety or which is unhealthy or unsafe and is declared to be a public nuisance;

(2)  Prohibits a county from enacting a nuisance abatement ordinance relating to agricultural structures or operations including, but not limited to, the raising of livestock or row crops and that no county of the first, second, third, or fourth classification will have the power to adopt any ordinance, resolution, or regulation governing any railroad company regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration;

(3)  Changes the penalty for a screening violation by a junkyard located within 200 feet of a state or county road by making a first violation a class C misdemeanor and a second or subsequent violation a class A misdemeanor.  In addition to the penalties, a violator must be ordered to remove the junk or build a fence to fully screen the junk from public view.  These provisions will not apply to a junkyard located in any incorporated town, village, or city;

(4)  Specifies that the exclusive compensatory damages that may be awarded to a claimant for a private nuisance originating from property primarily used for crop or animal production purposes will be as follows:
(a)  For a permanent nuisance, compensatory damages must be measured by the reduction in the fair market value of the claimant’s property caused by the nuisance not to exceed the fair market value of the property;
(b)  For a temporary nuisance, compensatory damages must be measured by the reduction in the fair rental value of the claimant’s property caused by the nuisance; and
(c)  For a nuisance that has been shown by objective and documented evidence to have caused a medical condition to the claimant, compensatory damages arising from the medical condition may be awarded in addition to the aforementioned damages;

(5)  Specifies that concerning a private nuisance where the alleged nuisance originates from property primarily used for crop or animal production purposes, if a claimant or his or her successor with ownership interest brings any subsequent claim against the same defendant or his or her successors for a temporary nuisance related to a similar activity or use of property and the activity or use is deemed a nuisance, the activity or use of property at issue must be considered a permanent nuisance and the claimant and his or her successors must be limited to and bound by the remedies available for a permanent nuisance;

(6)  Specifies that if a defendant in a private nuisance case where the alleged nuisance is from property used for crop or animal production purposes demonstrates a good faith effort to abate the condition determined to be a nuisance, the nuisance is to be deemed to be not capable of abatement.  Substantial compliance with a court order regarding the property will constitute a good faith effort;

(7)  Specifies that for a private nuisance where the alleged nuisance originates from property primarily used for crop or animal production purposes, no person will have standing to bring an action for a private nuisance unless the person has an ownership interest in the property alleged to be affected by the nuisance;

(8)  Specifies that a person is not prohibited from recovering damages for:
(a)  Annoyance, discomfort, sickness, or emotional distress if the damages are awarded on the basis of a cause of action independent of a claim of nuisance; or
(b)  Crop destruction, crop damage, contamination of the seed supply, or a reduction of crop value resulting from contamination of the seed or grain supply, herbicide drift, or other reduction of crop value; and

(9) Requires a copy of the final judgment in any action alleging a private nuisance to be filed with the recorder of deeds in the county in which the judgment was issued.  The filing will operate as notice to any purchaser of the claimant’s property that the property was related to a previous nuisance claim. (Signed 5/11/11)

HCS SB 220 – Architects, professional engineers, land surveyors, landscape architects, well diggers (See Licensing Law)