JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.– On the last day to take action on bills passed during the 2016 legislative session, Gov. Jay Nixon signed four bills, including a bill clarifying landlord-tenant law and another designating July 1st as “Lucile Bluford Day.”
HB 1862, sponsored by Rep. Gary Cross, R-Lee’s Summit, specifies that for the purpose of restoring possession in a landlord tenant action, judgment must be executed no sooner than 10 days after the judgment.
Previously, if on any date after the date of any original trial, the defendant satisfies the judgment and pays all costs, the execution for possession of the premises must cease and be stayed.
The bill also clarifies what can be done with security deposits. It specifies that deposits must be held in a bank, credit union, or depository institution insured by an agency of the federal government. Security deposits cannot be commingled with other funds the landlord has and any interest earned on a security deposit is the property of the landlord.
HB 1559 designates July 1 as “Lucile Bluford Day” in Missouri starting in 2017.
“I am very pleased and grateful for the support I have received in honoring a Kansas City legend and one of our state’s greatest civil rights leaders, Lucile Bluford,” said Rep. Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, who sponsored the legislation.. “Recognition of Bluford’s dedication to fighting injustice and breaking down racial barriers at the University of Missouri is well-deserved and I am proud that legislation has been signed into law that will do so.”
Bluford fought to end discrimination at the University of Missouri’s journalism school. She was accepted into the school’s graduate program but was denied admittance when she showed up and they saw she was black. After she won a court case, the school disbanded the program to prevent her from attending.
In 1984, the UM School of Journalism awarded Bluford its Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. Five years later, the university granted her an honorary doctorate in humanities.
Nixon also signed HB 1577, sponsored by Rep. Galen Higdon, R-St. Joseph, establishing the Joint Committee on Capitol Security, which will meet to discuss the security of the capitol building.
The Governor also signed Senate Bill 702, sponsored Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, which clarifies when a taxicab driver is or is not considered an employee of the company that either leases the taxicab to the driver or provides dispatching or rider referral services to the driver.
Overall, Nixon signed 115 bills (including 16 budget bills), vetoed 23 bills and portions of two budget bills, and allowed three bills to become law without his signature from the 2016 legislative session.
