Stop Missouri from Gutting Local Building Standards

I urge you to reject SCS HCS HB 2384 (Jones), which undermines local control and puts Missouri residents at risk in the name of developer convenience. The bill's energy code preemption is deeply troubling. By capping building energy standards at the 2012 code, the state would lock Missouri communities into outdated efficiency requirements for all new residential construction. This is a gift to developers at the direct expense of working-class families. Energy-efficient homes mean lower utility bills. When we prevent cities and counties from adopting stronger standards, we condemn lower-income residents to higher monthly costs for decades, since buildings constructed today will still be standing in 2070 and beyond. Wealthier households can afford to retrofit; most cannot. Blocking communities from setting their own standards also strips local governments of a tool they have used to reflect the values and needs of their residents. A city like St. Louis or Kansas City should be able to respond to its own housing stock, climate conditions, and constituent priorities. This bill tells them they cannot. That is an attack on democratic self-governance dressed up as regulatory reform. The permit approval provision raises serious concerns as well. Deeming a permit automatically approved if a locality fails to respond within 30 days sounds reasonable on its surface, but it ignores the chronic underfunding and understaffing that plague municipal permitting offices, particularly in smaller and lower-income communities. This provision does not come with funding to help those offices meet the new timelines. It simply punishes them for a resource problem created by years of state-level disinvestment. The result will be approvals of projects that deserve scrutiny, with residents bearing the consequences. We should be strengthening communities' ability to protect their residents, not stripping it away to benefit developers and construction interests. I urge a no vote on this legislation.