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Panel advances bill requiring REITs to name local registered agents; amendment forbids fees
Summary
The Cities & Counties subcommittee unanimously advanced HB1501, which requires REITs that own local property to provide a local registered agent (name, phone, physical address). An amendment (12176) added language banning any fee for the registration; the measure passed the committee 7-0.
The Cities & Counties subcommittee on Feb. 4 voted 7-0 to advance House Bill 15 01, a bill by Leader Lambert that would require a real-estate investment trust (REIT) owning local property to designate a registered agent with a name, telephone number and physical address for municipal contact. The committee adopted Amendment 12176, which the sponsor said "shall not collect any fee from a REIT filing the form."
Leader Lambert told the committee the proposal is narrowly focused on ensuring cities have someone to contact about property issues such as overgrown grass or code violations, not on identifying owners. He described the change as creating "just somebody to contact," and said noncompliance would carry a $50 fine for failing to register. Representative Mitchell questioned how municipalities would identify nonfilers; Lambert acknowledged enforcement could require work but said the statutory requirement creates a point of contact. Representative Butler asked and the sponsor reiterated the bill does not create a registry of rental-property owners or require ownership disclosure.
The amendment passed without objection, and the committee recorded 7 ayes and 0 nos on final passage. House Bill 15 01, as amended, will move to the next available calendar for state and local government consideration.
