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House passes bill barring local mandates to force landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers
Summary
A House Committee substitute for House Bills 595 and 343 passed after floor debate weighing property‑rights protections against tenant‑protection and housing‑supply concerns; the substitute passed 104–38 with eight members recorded present.
The Missouri House on Feb. 13, 2025, passed a House Committee substitute for House Bills 595 and 343 that, according to the sponsor, prohibits local governments from forcing landlords to accept Section 8 housing vouchers and limits local authority to dictate tenant‑screening criteria. The committee substitute passed on a vote of 104 yeas, 38 nays and eight present.
The sponsor, identified in the transcript as the Representative from Clay County, characterized the measure as protecting private property and said it “does 2 very simple things” — preventing local mandates that compel landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers and prohibiting local restrictions on how landlords screen tenants. The sponsor said the bill was not an indictment of the Section 8 program or voucher holders but was “simply a property rights bill.”
Opponents and questioners, including the Representative from Saint Louis County and the Representative from Saint Louis City, asked whether existing protections and pending litigation might affect the law’s application. The Representative from Saint Louis County urged caution and suggested waiting on the outcome of a related lawsuit in Kansas City, warning that a state‑wide statute could have unintended consequences. The Representative from Saint Louis City raised concerns about the state’s overall housing shortage and possible impacts on renters.
Members also discussed specifics in the Kansas City ordinance that prompted the bill: speakers noted the ordinance draws distinctions between violent and nonviolent criminal history and that it would require landlords to consider a totality of factors (credit, eviction history, employment) rather than denying a prospective tenant based on a single nonviolent offense. The sponsor said those distinctions underscored why local mandates were improper.
The clerk announced the final count as 104 yeas, 38 nays and eight present; the committee substitute was declared third read and passed and will proceed to the Senate.
