I'm pleased to announce that two of my top priorities in the House of Representatives have passed the General Assembly. House Bill 1848, the Urban Farming Bill, was truly agreed and finally passed on Thursday the 13th. Today, our final day of session, the language from the PACE bill which I originally sponsored as part of House Bill 2178, passed the General Assembly as an Amendment on House Bill 1692. I want to thank everyone who helped get this legislation passed. Below I've included two articles about the two bills and their passage.
As always, it is truly a pleasure to represent you in Jefferson City.
Warmest regards,
Jason R. Holsman
Urban Farming Bill Lands on Governor's Desk
Jefferson City, MO - With only one day left in the 2010 legislative session, the Urban Farming Bill, sponsored by Representative Jason Holsman (D - Kansas City), has been truly agreed and finally passed by both houses of the Missouri General Assembly. The long journey through the legislative process has been completed and House Bill 1848 is now awaiting Governor Jay Nixon's signature.
The bill, which was introduced by Holsman on January 27th, creates a joint interim committee to study urban farming in the state of Missouri. The ultimate goal of the committee is to generate a report on urban agriculture and vertical farming that can be used as a template for both states and urban farmers to develop 'best practices' to be used to shape the urban agriculture industry.
"I am very grateful to everyone who drove down to Jefferson City to testify on behalf of H.B. 1848. There are a million ways for a bill to fail and only one way for it to pass. Many individuals on both sides of the aisle in both chambers helped shepherd this legislation to passage. I especially want to thank Representative Tom Loehner (R - Osage County), Chairman of the Agriculture Policy Committee, and Senator Jolie Justus, who handled the bill in the Senate," said Holsman "The results of this study can lead to more jobs for our citizens and could encourage the development of vertical farms and other forms of high-tech agriculture in Missouri."
Property Assessed Clean Energy Bill Passed
Jefferson City, MO - In a gesture of bipartisanship, Missouri State Representatives Shane Schoeller (R - Willard) and Jason Holsman (D - Kansas City) joined together to celebrate the passage of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (P.A.C.E.) legislation from the Missouri General Assembly. PACE would give municipalities statutory authority to start a program which would allow homeowners to make energy efficiency or energy generation improvements to their homes, which would be paid off over a set number of years by a surcharge on the homeowner's property assessment. The program would put workers in the construction industry - which has been especially hard hit in the ongoing recession - back to work installing improvements on properties. Since the costs involved would be borne by the homeowners participating in the program through their own property taxes, PACE would be self funding and wouldn't require any tax dollars. The language, which was contained in House Bill 1692, was attached on the bill in the Missouri Senate by Senator Joan Bray (D - St. Louis).
"The passage of PACE is a huge step forward for Missouri" said Holsman "this will create jobs and will help lower utility bills for Missourians who participate in the program."
"Implementation of PACE is a move in the right direction, giving the people of Missouri a method of overcoming the steep cost of energy saving renovations without increases in government spending or mandates," commented Rep. Schoeller, "equally as important, it keeps the progress of this program under local control where the people have a greater choice in the direction of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, rather than well-intentioned bureaucratic programs."
Now that PACE has passed both houses of the General Assembly, it will be sent to the Governor's office before it can become Missouri State Statute.
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