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Parson signs off on PACE, tort reform, banking bills

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Mike Parson signed bills altering Missouri’s Property Assessment Clean Energy (PACE) program, 065 arbitration process, and licensure for financial institutions Tuesday morning.

HB 697 from Rep. Bruce DeGroot requires municipalities taking action with a clean energy development board under PACE to notify the Division of Finance of the change, and the division would be required to conduct examinations of a board every two years. The Clean Energy Development Board would be required to work with property owners by disclosing project information, keeping them up-to-date on developments, and informing them in writing that delinquent assessments would be a lien on their property. It was TAFP’d the final Wednesday of regular session. 

DeGroot’s HB 345 modifies certain arbitration arrangements, known as 065 agreements. A tortfeasor — someone who commits a civil wrong against another — whose insurer denies them coverage can enter into an agreement with the victim, who limits their pursuit of the tortfeasor’s assets to certain items or forgoes it all together. The bill closes a loophole in the system in which insurers are removed from tort proceedings and allows them to be part of the legal conversation by requiring them to be notified of legal action against them in writing. 

SB 106 from Sen. Sandy Crawford was also on Tuesday morning’s docket; the bill alters licensing and regulation standards for financial institutions; it also allows the Division of Finance to approve certain mergers of financial institutions and brings Missouri into line with Universal Commercial Code regulations for electronic lending devices. Of Tuesday morning’s bills, it was the only one to cross the finish line before the final week of session. 

Parson has already signed several pieces of priority legislation, from the Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) to a statewide prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). He is slated to act on the state’s operating budget and bills establishing a Wayfair internet sales tax Wednesday.