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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1716
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
4077H.03C JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 620, RSMo, by adding thereto seven new sections relating to rural
workforce housing, with a penalty provision.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 620, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto seven new sections, to
2 be known as sections 620.2030, 620.2032, 620.2034, 620.2035, 620.2036, 620.2038, and
3 620.2040, to read as follows:
620.2030. 1. Sections 620.2030 to 620.2040 shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Rural W orkforce Housing Investment Act".
3 2. For purposes of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Department", the department of economic development;
5 (2) "Dir ector", the dir ector of the department of economic development;
6 (3) "Eligible activities of a nonprofi t development organization":
7 (a) New construction of owner -occupied or ren tal housing in a community with
8 demonstrated workforce housing needs;
9 (b) Substantial repai r or reh abilitation of dilapidated housing stock; or
10 (c) Upper -story housing development;
11 (4) "Matching funds", moneys contributed by individuals, businesses,
1 2 foundations, local and reg ional political subdivisions, or other nonpro fit organizations
13 to be administer ed by a nonprof it development organization;
14 (5) "Nonpro fit development organization", a regi onal or statewide nonpr ofit
15 development organization appr oved by the dir ector;
16 (6) "Qualified activities", include, but ar e not limited to, pur chase and rent al
17 guarantees, loan guarantees, loan participations, and other credit enhancements, or any
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
18 other form of assistance designed to redu ce the cost of workfor ce housing r elated to
19 eligible activities of the nonprof it development organization;
20 (7) "Qualified investment", a cash investment in a workforc e housing
21 investment fund administered by a nonprof it development organization;
22 (8) "Rural community", any city or county with a population of fewer than fifty
23 thousand inhabitants as determined by the most r ecent federal decennial census;
24 (9) "W orkfor ce housing":
25 (a) Housing that meets the needs of modern working families;
26 (b) Housing that is attractive to new r esidents considering reloca tion to a rural
27 community;
28 (c) Owner -occupied housing units that cost not mor e than two hundred seventy-
29 five thousand dollars per unit to construct or ren tal housing units that cost not mor e
30 than two hundred thousand dollars per unit to construct. For purposes of this
31 subdivision, housing unit costs shall be updated annually by the department based upon
32 the most rec ent incr ease or decrease in the Pr oducer Price Index for all commodities,
33 published by the United States Department of Labor , Bur eau of Labor Statistics;
34 (d) Owner -occupied and re ntal housing units for which the cost to substantially
35 r ehabilitate exceeds fifty per cent of a unit's assessed value;
36 (e) Upper -story housing; and
37 (f) Housing that does not rec eive federal or state low-income housing tax cred its,
38 community development block grants, or loans or grants fr om the Missouri housing
39 trust fund under section 215.034;
40 (10) "W orkforce housing investment fund", a fund that has been cr eated by a
41 nonpr ofit development organization and certified by the department to encourage
42 development of workforce housing in rural communities.
620.2032. 1. Ther e shall be established within the department of economic
2 development a workforce housing grant pr ogram to foster and support the development
3 of workforce housing in rural communities.
4 2. A nonpr ofit development organization may apply to the department for
5 appr oval of a workfor ce housing grant for the creat ion of a workforce housing
6 investment fund. The application shall be in a form and manner pr escribed by the
7 dir ector . Thr ough fiscal year 2029, grants shall be awarded by the dir ector on a
8 competitive basis until grant moneys ar e no longer available. Grant maximums shall
9 not exceed one million dollars to any one nonprof it development organization over a
10 two-year period, with no mor e than two million dollars cumulative for any single
11 grantee thr ough fiscal year 2029. Grants shall req uire a minimum four -to-one in
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12 matching moneys to be consider ed a qualified grant application. Unallocated workfor ce
13 housing grant moneys held by the department shall be rolled to the next prog ram year .
14 3. Grants shall be awarded based upon:
15 (1) A demonstrated and ongoing housing need as identified by a rec ent housing
16 study;
17 (2) A community or regi on that has a low unemployment rate and is having
18 difficulty attracting workers and filling employment positions;
19 (3) A community or reg ion that exhibits a demonstrated commitment to growi ng
20 its housing stock;
21 (4) Pro jects that can reas onably be rea dy for occupancy in a period of twenty-
22 four months; and
23 (5) A demonstrated ability to gr ow and manage a workfor ce housing investment
24 fund.
25 4. A workfor ce housing investment fund shall be requi red to receive annual
26 certification fr om the department.
27 5. A nonpr ofit development organization shall:
28 (1) Invest or intend to invest in workfor ce housing eligible activities;
29 (2) Use any fees, inter est, loan r epayments, or other moneys it receives as a res ult
30 of the administration of the grant to support qualified activities; and
31 (3) Have an active board of direc tors with expertise in development,
3 2 construction, and finance that meets at least quarterly to appr ove all qualified
33 investments made by the nonpro fit development organization. A nonprof it development
34 organization shall have a formal plan and pr oven expertise to invest unused workfor ce
35 housing investment fund balances and shall have an annual audit of all financial r ecords
36 conducted by an independent certified public accountant.
620.2034. 1. There is her eby cr eated in the state tr easury the "Rural W orkfor ce
2 Housing Investment Fund", which shall consist of moneys appr opriated to the fund by
3 the general assembly . The state trea sur er shall be custodian of the fund. In accordance
4 with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state tr easurer may appr ove disbursements. The
5 fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appr opriation, moneys in this fund shall be
6 used solely as provi ded in sections 620.2030 to 620.2040. The department shall
7 administer the fund and may seek additional private funds, nonstate funds, or funds
8 fr om other interes ted parties to use in the workforce housing grant prog ram.
9 2. Notwithstanding any other prov isions of law to the contrary , any moneys
10 r emaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not r evert to the credit of the
11 general reven ue fund.
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12 3. The state tr easure r shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner as
13 other funds ar e invested. Any interes t and moneys earned on such investments shall be
14 cr edited to the fund.
620.2035. 1. If a nonpr ofit development organization fails to engage in the initial
2 qualified activity within twenty-four months after r eceiving initial grant funding, the
3 nonpr ofit development organization shall ret urn the grant moneys to the department
4 for cred it to the rural workforce housing investment fund established under section
5 620.2034.
6 2. If a nonpr ofit development organization fails to allocate any rem aining initial
7 grant funding on a qualified activity within twenty-four months after engaging in the
8 initial qualified activity , the nonpro fit development organization shall r eturn such
9 unallocated grant fund moneys to the department for credi t to the rural workfor ce
10 housing investment fund established under section 620.2034.
11 3. The dir ector shall have discret ion to transfer any unused moneys to any
12 qualifying trust or fund befor e August 28, 2031. Beginning August 28, 2031, any moneys
13 held by the department and not designated by the dir ector to be disbursed to an
14 alternative trust or fund shall be transferred to the Missouri housing trust fund
15 established under section 215.034.
620.2036. 1. Each nonprof it development organization shall submit an annual
2 status report to the dire ctor . The r eport shall certify that the nonpro fit development
3 organization meets the requi rem ents of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040 and shall include a
4 br eakdown of pr ogram activities.
5 2. The annual rep ort shall include, but not be limited to:
6 (1) The name and geographical location of the re porting nonprof it development
7 organization;
8 (2) The number , amount, and type of workforce housing investment funds
9 invested in qualified activities;
10 (3) The number , geographical location, type, and amount of investments made;
11 (4) A summary of matching funds and wher e such matching funds were
12 generated; and
13 (5) The res ults of the annual audit req uir ed under subsection 5 of section
14 620.2032.
15 3. If a nonpr ofit development organization ceases administration of a workfor ce
16 housing investment fund, it shall file a final re port with the dir ector in a form and
17 manner r equir ed by the direc tor . Befor e August 28, 2031, any unallocated grant moneys
18 shall be ret urned to the department for cred it to the rural workfor ce housing investment
19 fund. Beginning August 28, 2031, any unallocated grant moneys shall be r eturned to the
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20 department for cr edit to the rural workfor ce housing investment fund established under
21 section 620.2034.
22 4. If a nonprof it development organization fails to file a complete annual report
23 by February fifteenth, the dir ector may , in his or her discr etion, impose a civil penalty of
24 not mor e than five thousand dollars for such violation. All moneys collected by the
25 department under this subsection shall be rem itted to the state trea sur er for distribution
26 in accordance with Article IX, Section 7 of the Constitution of Missouri.
620.2038. 1. The department shall use its best efforts to ensure that grant
2 moneys awarded to nonprof it development organizations are targeted to the geographic
3 communities or r egions with the most press ing economic and employment needs.
4 2. The department shall use its best efforts to ensur e that the allocation of grant
5 moneys pr ovides equitable access to the benefits prov ided by sections 620.2030 to
6 620.2040 to all eligible geographical areas.
7 3. The department may contract with a statewide public or private nonpr ofit
8 organization that shall serve as agent for the department to help carry out the purposes
9 and req uirements of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040. The department or its agent shall
10 use for expenses only that portion of the moneys available for the workfor ce housing
11 grant progr am thr ough the rural workforce housing investment fund necessary to cover
12 the actual costs of administering the pr ogram including, but not limited to, the hiring of
13 staff.
620.2040. 1. The department shall submit an annual status rep ort to the general
2 assembly and the governor that includes, but is not limited to:
3 (1) The number and geographical location of nonpro fit development
4 organizations establishing workfor ce housing investment funds;
5 (2) The number , amount, and type of workforce housing investment funds
6 invested in qualified activities; and
7 (3) The number , geographical location, type, and amount of investments made
8 by each nonpr ofit development organization.
9 2. The r eport to the general assembly shall be submitted electr onically .
10 3. Information r eceived, developed, crea ted, or otherwise maintained by the
11 department in administering and enforcin g sections 620.2030 to 620.2040, other than
12 information requi red to be included in the r eport to be submitted by the department to
13 the governor and the general assembly under this section, may be deemed confidential
14 by the department and not consider ed public r ecords subject to disclosur e under
15 chapter 610.
16 4. The director may pro mulgate all necessary rules and regul ations for the
17 administration of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that
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18 term is defined in section 536.010, that is creat ed under the authority delegated in this
19 section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the
20 pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter
21 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
22 pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul
23 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
24 and any rule prop osed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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