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Covering state lawmakers, bills, and policy emerging from Jefferson City.

Springfield Lawmaker's Bill Aims to Clean Meth Labs, Remove Provision to Disclose Site

Current state law requires the seller or transferor to disclose any prior knowledge of methamphetamine production./Photo credit:

Landlords would not be required to disclose if a property was contaminated through the manufacture of controlled substances, given the site is properly cleaned. That’s according to a bill filed by a Springfield lawmaker in the Missouri House. KSMU’s Scott Harvey has details.

http://ozarkspub.vo.llnwd.net/o37/KSMU/audio/mp3/springfield-lawmaker-s-bill-aims-clean-meth-labs-ease-disclosure-sites_79517.mp3

The “Controlled Substances Contaminated Property Cleanup Act” was filed Monday by Democratic State Representative Charlie Norr. It would authorize the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services to establish a certification program in which qualified contractors would inspect, sample, remediate, and remove dangerous materials from a site suspected of drug production.

“A landlord just can’t simply take out the carpet and re-rent it to somebody particularly that has young children. It’s a thorough cleaning process that should be done, that needs to be done, and we need the companies to be licensed to that type of work in Missouri,” Norr told KSMU in February.

The legislation also creates a list of contaminated properties in the state.

According to the bill, once a contaminated property is remediated and property owner notified, “no person including the property owner, landlord, or real estate agent is require d to report or otherwise disclose the past contamination.” Current state law requires the seller or transferor to disclose any prior knowledge of methamphetamine production.

In an  interview with the Springfield News-Leader, Judi Samuel, vice president of the Greater Springfield Apartment and Housing Association, offered her support for ending the disclosure requirement should the site be cleaned. She added that the bill does not include “anything that would be of great concern.”

A call to the Missouri Association of Realtors requesting comment was not returned Tuesday.