A bill that would ban outside eviction moratoriums received preliminary approval from the Missouri House last week and at least one lawmaker is angered by the proposal.
“We have a lot of hardworking Missourians who, due to the pandemic, would have lost their homes had it not been for eviction moratoriums during the height of the pandemic, and those moratoriums were forced upon municipalities by the federal government,” said Rep. Doug Clemens (D-St. Ann). “Many of those municipalities and counties would have moved forward with evictions when people were, through no fault of their own, in danger of losing their homes.”
HB1682 would prohibit a county, municipality, or other political subdivision from imposing or enforcing a moratorium on eviction proceedings unless authorized by state law
“Luckily clearer minds prevailed when the federal government put the moratorium in place,” Clemens told the St. Louis Record. “This bill is part of the, ‘We don't like big government interfering with us’ pushback against what happened with certain measures during the pandemic. I'm a little angry at this.”
Rep. Chris Brown (R-Hollinger), who sponsored the proposal, argued that the state has an interest in protecting property rights and the free market, according to media reports.
Empower Missouri was among the organizations that testified against approving the bill. HB 1682 will now be considered by the Senate.
“This seems more to me about a war on impoverished people who are just barely making it to begin with and that seems to be a growing trend in a great deal of legislation is this expectation that if you aren't earning $150,000 a year, you're not worth the time, protections, or a fair shake from the laws of the state of Missouri,” Clemens said. “That's just wrong.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, during the pandemic, landlords were given compensation for lost rent on behalf of families who were unable to pay but many refused the compensation.
“This is because they still would prefer to throw a family out in the cold rather than get their money,” Clemens added. “So, while everybody talks about landlords getting their money and they work hard for their profits too, that just doesn't wash. It's a callous idea when you have the capability of helping a family succeed versus possibly financially destroying it for a generation. I personally err on the side of helping a fellow Missourian succeed.”