Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573) 751-0290
Governor Signs Bills Benefiting Missouri, Protecting Consumers, Fixing Concealed Carry
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt today signed several bills that will protect consumers from insurance fraud, provide counties with resources to issue law abiding citizens’ concealed carry permits, promote parental involvement in education, establish a process to resolve disputes between homebuilders and homeowners, protect homebuyers from sexual offenders and make it a crime to harm service dogs.
"I am pleased today to sign these important pieces of legislation," Blunt said. "Their impact is broad reaching and their topics varied, but they all play an important role in honoring state government’s profound duty to the people – to secure rights and improve lives."
House Bill 116, sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken, makes it a crime to cause physical injury or death to a service dog. The bill also includes provisions that allow owners to seek civil damages in those instances.
House Bill 174, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Wood, adds the term "exclusive brokerage agreement" to laws regarding real estate agents and brokers. The bill allows brokers to act as exclusive agents on behalf of their clients after entering into a written agency agreement. The bill also prohibits applicants found guilty of specified sexual offenses and certain felonies from receiving or holding real estate licenses. This bill passed both the House and Senate Chambers unanimously.
House Bill 365, sponsored by Rep. Brian Munzlinger, allows sheriffs to use the proceeds derived from permit application fees for expenses associated with processing concealed carry permits. The bill will assure law abiding citizen’s right to obtain a concealed carry permit, while providing the financial resources to the issuing authority.
House Bill 388, sponsored by Rep. Brian Yates, protects personal health and financial information in Department of Insurance consumer complaint files. Incident reports, including the date, company and a brief description remain public. In addition Blunt signed Executive Order 05-18, directing the Department of Insurance to adopt administrative rules to compliment the bill, protect consumer privacy and ensure relevant information and complaints about insurance companies are made public.
House Bill 866, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Wilson, will help protect consumers from individuals who violate insurance laws. The bill changes laws that govern insurance fraud and related penalties and will give the Department of Insurance means to penalize individuals who violate the laws.
Senate Bill 168, sponsored by Sen. Jon Dolan, protects both homebuilders and homeowners by providing a process to resolve disputes relating to new home construction. The bill requires homeowners to give contractors an opportunity to repair defects before they file a law suit. The bill also bans racially discriminatory restrictive covenants in homeowner association documents.
Senate Bill 480, sponsored by Sen. Charlie Shields, requires the state board of education to adopt a policy to encourage parent and family involvement in children’s education and also requires school district to adopt similar policies. The legislation will help to increase partnerships between educators and to get more parents involved in the education of their children.
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