| 1 | 1 | | |
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| 2 | 2 | | FIRST REGULAR SESSION |
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| 3 | 3 | | SENATE BILL NO. 656 |
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| 4 | 4 | | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 5 | 5 | | INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BEAN. |
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| 6 | 6 | | 2475S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary |
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| 7 | 7 | | AN ACT |
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| 8 | 8 | | To amend chapter 620, RSMo, by adding thereto seven new sections relating to rural workforce |
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| 9 | 9 | | housing, with a penalty provision. |
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| 10 | 10 | | |
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| 11 | 11 | | Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Section A. Chapter 620, RSMo, is amende d by adding thereto 1 |
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| 13 | 13 | | seven new sections, to be known as sections 620.2030, 620.2032, 2 |
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| 14 | 14 | | 620.2034, 620.2035, 620.2036, 620.2038, and 620.2040, to read 3 |
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| 15 | 15 | | as follows:4 |
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| 16 | 16 | | 620.2030. 1. Sections 620.2030 to 620.2040 shall be 1 |
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| 17 | 17 | | known and may be cited as the "Rural Workforce Housing 2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | Investment Act". 3 |
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| 19 | 19 | | 2. For purposes of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040, the 4 |
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| 20 | 20 | | following terms mean: 5 |
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| 21 | 21 | | (1) "Department", the department of economic 6 |
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| 22 | 22 | | development; 7 |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) "Director", the director of the department of 8 |
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| 24 | 24 | | economic development; 9 |
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| 25 | 25 | | (3) "Eligible activities of a nonprofit development 10 |
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| 26 | 26 | | organization": 11 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) New construction of owner -occupied or rental 12 |
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| 28 | 28 | | housing in a community with demonstrated workforce housing 13 |
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| 29 | 29 | | needs; 14 |
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| 30 | 30 | | (b) Substantial repair or rehabilitation of 15 |
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| 31 | 31 | | dilapidated housing stock; or 16 |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c) Upper-story housing development; 17 SB 656 2 |
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| 33 | 33 | | (4) "Matching funds", dollars contributed by 18 |
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| 34 | 34 | | individuals, businesses, foundations, local and regional 19 |
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| 35 | 35 | | political subdivisions, or other nonprofit organizations to 20 |
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| 36 | 36 | | a workforce housing investment fund administered by a 21 |
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| 37 | 37 | | nonprofit development organization; 22 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (5) "Nonprofit development organization", a regional 23 |
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| 39 | 39 | | or statewide nonprofit development organization approved by 24 |
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| 40 | 40 | | the director; 25 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (6) "Qualified activities", include, but are not 26 |
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| 42 | 42 | | limited to, purchase and rental guarantees, loan guarantees, 27 |
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| 43 | 43 | | loan participations, and other credit enhancements, or any 28 |
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| 44 | 44 | | other form of assistance designed to reduce the cost of 29 |
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| 45 | 45 | | workforce housing related to eligible activities of the 30 |
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| 46 | 46 | | nonprofit development organization; 31 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (7) "Qualified investment", a cash investment in a 32 |
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| 48 | 48 | | workforce housing investment fund administered by a 33 |
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| 49 | 49 | | nonprofit development organization; 34 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (8) "Rural community", any city or county with a 35 |
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| 51 | 51 | | population of fewer than fifty thousand inhabitants as 36 |
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| 52 | 52 | | determined by the most recent federal decennial census; 37 |
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| 53 | 53 | | (9) "Workforce housing": 38 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (a) Housing that meets the needs of modern working 39 |
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| 55 | 55 | | families; 40 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (b) Housing that is attractive to new residents 41 |
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| 57 | 57 | | considering relocation to a rural community; 42 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (c) Owner-occupied housing units that cost not more 43 |
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| 59 | 59 | | than two hundred seventy -five thousand dollars per unit to 44 |
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| 60 | 60 | | construct or rental housing units that cost not more than 45 |
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| 61 | 61 | | two hundred thousand dollars per unit to constr uct. For 46 |
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| 62 | 62 | | purposes of this subdivision, housing unit costs shall be 47 |
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| 63 | 63 | | updated annually by the department based upon the most 48 |
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| 64 | 64 | | recent increase or decrease in the Producer Price Index for 49 SB 656 3 |
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| 65 | 65 | | all commodities, published by the United States Department 50 |
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| 66 | 66 | | of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics; 51 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (d) Owner-occupied and rental housing units for which 52 |
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| 68 | 68 | | the cost to substantially rehabilitate exceeds fifty percent 53 |
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| 69 | 69 | | of a unit's assessed value; 54 |
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| 70 | 70 | | (e) Upper-story housing; and 55 |
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| 71 | 71 | | (f) Housing that does not receive f ederal or state low- 56 |
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| 72 | 72 | | income housing tax credits, community development block 57 |
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| 73 | 73 | | grants, or loans or grants from the Missouri housing trust 58 |
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| 74 | 74 | | fund under section 215.034; 59 |
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| 75 | 75 | | (10) "Workforce housing investment fund", a fund that 60 |
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| 76 | 76 | | has been created by a nonprof it development organization and 61 |
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| 77 | 77 | | certified by the department to encourage development of 62 |
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| 78 | 78 | | workforce housing in rural communities. 63 |
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| 79 | 79 | | 620.2032. 1. There shall be established within the 1 |
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| 80 | 80 | | department of economic development a workforce housin g grant 2 |
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| 81 | 81 | | program to foster and support the development of workforce 3 |
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| 82 | 82 | | housing in rural communities. 4 |
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| 83 | 83 | | 2. A nonprofit development organization may apply to 5 |
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| 84 | 84 | | the department for approval of a workforce housing grant for 6 |
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| 85 | 85 | | the creation of a workforce housing investment fund. The 7 |
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| 86 | 86 | | application shall be in a form and manner prescribed by the 8 |
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| 87 | 87 | | director. For fiscal years ending on or before June 30, 9 |
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| 88 | 88 | | 2028, grants shall be awarded by the director on a 10 |
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| 89 | 89 | | competitive basis until grant funds are no longer 11 |
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| 90 | 90 | | available. Grant maximums shall not exceed one million 12 |
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| 91 | 91 | | dollars to any one nonprofit development organization over a 13 |
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| 92 | 92 | | two-year period, with no more than two million dollars 14 |
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| 93 | 93 | | cumulative for any single grantee for all fiscal years 15 |
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| 94 | 94 | | ending on or before June 30, 2028. Grants shall require a 16 |
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| 95 | 95 | | minimum one-to-one in matching funds to be considered a 17 |
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| 96 | 96 | | qualified grant application. Unallocated workforce housing 18 SB 656 4 |
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| 97 | 97 | | grant funds held by the department shall be available to be 19 |
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| 98 | 98 | | awarded in the next program year. 20 |
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| 99 | 99 | | 3. Grants shall be awarded based upon: 21 |
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| 100 | 100 | | (1) A demonstrated and ongoing housing need as 22 |
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| 101 | 101 | | identified by a recent housing study; 23 |
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| 102 | 102 | | (2) A community or region that has a low unemployment 24 |
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| 103 | 103 | | rate and is having difficulty attracting workers and filling 25 |
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| 104 | 104 | | employment positions; 26 |
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| 105 | 105 | | (3) A community or region that exhibits a demonstrated 27 |
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| 106 | 106 | | commitment to growing its housing stock; 28 |
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| 107 | 107 | | (4) Projects that can reasonably be ready for 29 |
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| 108 | 108 | | occupancy in a period of twenty -four months; and 30 |
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| 109 | 109 | | (5) A demonstrated ability to grow an d manage a 31 |
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| 110 | 110 | | workforce housing investment fund. 32 |
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| 111 | 111 | | 4. A workforce housing investment fund shall be 33 |
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| 112 | 112 | | required to receive annual certification from the department. 34 |
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| 113 | 113 | | 5. A nonprofit development organization shall: 35 |
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| 114 | 114 | | (1) Invest or intend to invest in workforce housing 36 |
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| 115 | 115 | | eligible activities; 37 |
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| 116 | 116 | | (2) Use any fees, interest, loan repayments, or other 38 |
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| 117 | 117 | | funds it receives as a result of the administration of the 39 |
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| 118 | 118 | | grant to support qualified activities; and 40 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (3) Have an active board of directors with ex pertise 41 |
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| 120 | 120 | | in development, construction, and finance that meets at 42 |
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| 121 | 121 | | least quarterly to approve all qualified investments made by 43 |
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| 122 | 122 | | the nonprofit development organization. A nonprofit 44 |
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| 123 | 123 | | development organization shall have a formal plan and proven 45 |
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| 124 | 124 | | expertise to invest unused workforce housing investment fund 46 |
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| 125 | 125 | | balances and shall have an annual audit of all financial 47 |
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| 126 | 126 | | records conducted by an independent certified public 48 |
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| 127 | 127 | | accountant. 49 SB 656 5 |
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| 128 | 128 | | 620.2034. 1. There is hereby created in the state 1 |
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| 129 | 129 | | treasury the "Rural Workforce Housing Investment Fund", 2 |
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| 130 | 130 | | which shall consist of moneys appropriated to the fund by 3 |
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| 131 | 131 | | the general assembly. The state treasurer shall be 4 |
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| 132 | 132 | | custodian of the fund. In accordance with sections 30.170 5 |
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| 133 | 133 | | and 30.180, the state treasurer may a pprove disbursements. 6 |
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| 134 | 134 | | The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, 7 |
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| 135 | 135 | | moneys in this fund shall be used solely as provided in 8 |
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| 136 | 136 | | sections 620.2030 to 620.2040. The department shall 9 |
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| 137 | 137 | | administer the fund and may seek additional private funds, 10 |
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| 138 | 138 | | nonstate funds, or funds from other interested parties to 11 |
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| 139 | 139 | | use in the workforce housing grant program. 12 |
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| 140 | 140 | | 2. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the 13 |
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| 141 | 141 | | contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the 14 |
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| 142 | 142 | | biennium shall not revert to t he credit of the general 15 |
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| 143 | 143 | | revenue fund. 16 |
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| 144 | 144 | | 3. The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund 17 |
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| 145 | 145 | | in the same manner as other funds are invested. Any 18 |
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| 146 | 146 | | interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 19 |
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| 147 | 147 | | credited to the fund. 20 |
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| 148 | 148 | | 620.2035. 1. If a nonprofit development organization 1 |
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| 149 | 149 | | fails to engage in the initial qualified activity within 2 |
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| 150 | 150 | | twenty-four months after receiving initial grant funding, 3 |
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| 151 | 151 | | the nonprofit development organization shall return the 4 |
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| 152 | 152 | | grant funds to the departmen t for credit to the rural 5 |
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| 153 | 153 | | workforce housing investment fund established under section 6 |
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| 154 | 154 | | 620.2034. 7 |
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| 155 | 155 | | 2. If a nonprofit development organization fails to 8 |
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| 156 | 156 | | allocate any remaining initial grant funding on a qualified 9 |
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| 157 | 157 | | activity within twenty -four months after engaging in the 10 |
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| 158 | 158 | | initial qualified activity, the nonprofit development 11 |
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| 159 | 159 | | organization shall return such unallocated grant funds to 12 SB 656 6 |
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| 160 | 160 | | the department for credit to the rural workforce housing 13 |
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| 161 | 161 | | investment fund established under section 620.2034. 14 |
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| 162 | 162 | | 3. The director shall have discretion to transfer any 15 |
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| 163 | 163 | | unused funds to any qualifying trust or fund before August 16 |
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| 164 | 164 | | 28, 2030. Beginning August 28, 2030, any funds held by the 17 |
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| 165 | 165 | | department and not designated by the director to be 18 |
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| 166 | 166 | | disbursed to an alternative trust or fund shall be 19 |
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| 167 | 167 | | transferred to the Missouri housing trust fund established 20 |
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| 168 | 168 | | under section 215.034. 21 |
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| 169 | 169 | | 620.2036. 1. Each nonprofit development organization 1 |
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| 170 | 170 | | shall submit an annual status report to the director. The 2 |
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| 171 | 171 | | report shall certify that the nonprofit development 3 |
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| 172 | 172 | | organization meets the requirements of sections 620.2030 to 4 |
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| 173 | 173 | | 620.2040 and shall include a breakdown of program activities. 5 |
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| 174 | 174 | | 2. The annual report shall include, but not be limited 6 |
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| 175 | 175 | | to: 7 |
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| 176 | 176 | | (1) The name and geographica l location of the 8 |
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| 177 | 177 | | reporting nonprofit development organization; 9 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (2) The number, amount, and type of workforce housing 10 |
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| 179 | 179 | | investment funds invested in qualified activities; 11 |
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| 180 | 180 | | (3) The number, geographical location, type, and 12 |
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| 181 | 181 | | amount of investments m ade; 13 |
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| 182 | 182 | | (4) A summary of matching funds and where such 14 |
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| 183 | 183 | | matching funds were generated; and 15 |
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| 184 | 184 | | (5) The results of the annual audit required under 16 |
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| 185 | 185 | | subsection 5 of section 620.2032. 17 |
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| 186 | 186 | | 3. If a nonprofit development organization ceases 18 |
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| 187 | 187 | | administration of a workforce housing investment fund, it 19 |
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| 188 | 188 | | shall file a final report with the director in a form and 20 |
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| 189 | 189 | | manner required by the director. Before August 28, 2030, 21 |
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| 190 | 190 | | any unallocated grant funds shall be returned to the 22 |
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| 191 | 191 | | department for credit to the rural wor kforce housing 23 SB 656 7 |
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| 192 | 192 | | investment fund. Beginning August 28, 2030, any unallocated 24 |
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| 193 | 193 | | grant funds shall be returned to the department for credit 25 |
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| 194 | 194 | | to the Missouri housing trust fund established under section 26 |
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| 195 | 195 | | 215.034. 27 |
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| 196 | 196 | | 4. If a nonprofit development organizatio n fails to 28 |
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| 197 | 197 | | file a complete annual report by February fifteenth, the 29 |
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| 198 | 198 | | director may, in his or her discretion, impose a civil 30 |
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| 199 | 199 | | penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for such 31 |
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| 200 | 200 | | violation. All moneys collected by the department under 32 |
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| 201 | 201 | | this subsection shall be remitted to the state treasurer for 33 |
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| 202 | 202 | | distribution in accordance with Article IX, Section 7 of the 34 |
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| 203 | 203 | | Constitution of Missouri. 35 |
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| 204 | 204 | | 620.2038. 1. The department shall use its best 1 |
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| 205 | 205 | | efforts to ensure that grant funds awarded to nonpro fit 2 |
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| 206 | 206 | | development organizations are targeted to the geographic 3 |
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| 207 | 207 | | communities or regions with the most pressing economic and 4 |
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| 208 | 208 | | employment needs. 5 |
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| 209 | 209 | | 2. The department shall use its best efforts to ensure 6 |
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| 210 | 210 | | that the allocation of grant funds provides equitable access 7 |
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| 211 | 211 | | to the benefits provided by sections 620.2030 to 620.2040 to 8 |
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| 212 | 212 | | all eligible geographical areas. 9 |
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| 213 | 213 | | 3. The department may contract with a statewide public 10 |
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| 214 | 214 | | or private nonprofit organization that shall serve as agent 11 |
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| 215 | 215 | | for the department to help ca rry out the purposes and 12 |
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| 216 | 216 | | requirements of sections 620.2030 to 620.2040. The 13 |
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| 217 | 217 | | department or its agent shall use for expenses only that 14 |
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| 218 | 218 | | portion of the funds available for the workforce housing 15 |
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| 219 | 219 | | grant program through the rural workforce housing investment 16 |
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| 220 | 220 | | fund necessary to cover the actual costs of administering 17 |
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| 221 | 221 | | the program including, but not limited to, the hiring of 18 |
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| 222 | 222 | | staff. 19 SB 656 8 |
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| 223 | 223 | | 620.2040. 1. The department shall submit an annual 1 |
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| 224 | 224 | | status report to the general assembly and the governor tha t 2 |
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| 225 | 225 | | includes, but is not limited to: 3 |
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| 226 | 226 | | (1) The number and geographical location of nonprofit 4 |
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| 227 | 227 | | development organizations establishing workforce housing 5 |
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| 228 | 228 | | investment funds; 6 |
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| 229 | 229 | | (2) The number, amount, and type of workforce housing 7 |
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| 230 | 230 | | investment funds inves ted in qualified activities; and 8 |
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| 231 | 231 | | (3) The number, geographical location, type, and 9 |
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| 232 | 232 | | amount of investments made by each nonprofit development 10 |
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| 233 | 233 | | organization. 11 |
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| 234 | 234 | | 2. The report to the general assembly shall be 12 |
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| 235 | 235 | | submitted electronically. 13 |
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| 236 | 236 | | 3. Information received, developed, created, or 14 |
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| 237 | 237 | | otherwise maintained by the department in administering and 15 |
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| 238 | 238 | | enforcing sections 620.2030 to 620.2040, other than 16 |
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| 239 | 239 | | information required to be included in the report to be 17 |
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| 240 | 240 | | submitted by the department to the governor a nd the general 18 |
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| 241 | 241 | | assembly under this section, may be deemed confidential by 19 |
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| 242 | 242 | | the department and not considered public records subject to 20 |
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| 243 | 243 | | disclosure under chapter 610. 21 |
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| 244 | 244 | | 4. The director may promulgate all necessary rules and 22 |
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| 245 | 245 | | regulations for the adminis tration of sections 620.2030 to 23 |
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| 246 | 246 | | 620.2040. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is 24 |
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| 247 | 247 | | defined in section 536.010, that is created under the 25 |
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| 248 | 248 | | authority delegated in this section shall become effective 26 |
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| 249 | 249 | | only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 27 |
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| 250 | 250 | | provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 28 |
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| 251 | 251 | | 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 29 |
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| 252 | 252 | | if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 30 |
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| 253 | 253 | | pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective 31 |
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| 254 | 254 | | date, or to disappro ve and annul a rule are subsequently 32 SB 656 9 |
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| 255 | 255 | | held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking 33 |
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| 256 | 256 | | authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 34 |
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| 257 | 257 | | 2025, shall be invalid and void. 35 |
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| 258 | 258 | | |
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