MO SB 1273

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Description

SB 1273 - Under this act, cities, counties, and school districts (defined as "political subdivisions") shall not adopt or enforce any ordinance, policy, resolution, deed restriction, property use restriction, or other such restriction that prevents property they sell, lease, or transfer from being used for any lawful educational purpose by a charter school. The act also prohibits any deed restriction or other such restriction that limits property to specific non-educational uses. Any existing restriction that bars property previously used for educational purposes from being used for future educational purposes is void. Any ordinance, policy, regulation, deed, use restriction, or contract made in violation of this act is void from its inception. Additionally, when a school district offers to sell or lease an unused school building or facility that is not being used for academic, extracurricular, administrative, or athletic purposes, and that either has no approved plan for future use or has a plan that has not been carried out within two years, the contract shall include a right of first refusal allowing a public entity to purchase or lease the property first. The term "public entity" includes the state of Missouri and any of its political subdivisions, such as cities, counties, boards, agencies, or authorities. If the school district accepts an offer to sell or lease the unused building or facility to a non-public entity, such district shall post a public notice on its website stating that the property is available. The public notice shall include the property's square footage, the district's contact information, and a statement that the right of first refusal expires 60 days after this notification. If no offer from a non-public entity exists, a public entity may initiate negotiations to buy or lease an unused school building or facility. The school district shall begin good-faith negotiations within 60 days of the public entity's engagement, and negotiations shall last up to 30 days. An independent mediator shall obtain appraisals to determine a fair market sale or lease price. If multiple public entities express interest in the unused building or facility, the school district shall decide which entity shall purchase or lease the property. During negotiations, the school district may choose whether to sell or lease the property, at fair market value or less. A lease shall allow reasonable access and use of shared common areas. If a public entity leases the entire facility and incurs debt to make improvements, the school district shall subordinate its lease interest to that debt. The public entity shall have six months from the date of its written offer to complete the purchase or lease. While leasing, the public entity shall be responsible for all direct expenses, including utilities, insurance, maintenance, property taxes, and repairs. If a public entity later decides to sell a facility it purchased from a school district, such public entity shall first offer the property back to that district, following the same procedures set forth in the act. This act is similar to SCS/HCS/HBs 2404 & 2172 (2026) and to provisions in SB 1496 (2026), HB 2866 (2026), SB 398 (2025), HB 447 (2025), HB 1044 (2025), SB 1006 (2024), SB 1123 (2024), HB 2088 (2024), HB 2178 (2024), SB 304 (2023), SB 650 (2022), HB 2087 (2022), SCS/SB 55, 25, & 23 (2021), SB 315 (2021), HCS/HB 137 (2021), HB 322 (2021), HB 729 (2021), SB 649 (2020), SB 603 (2020), HB 1917 (2020), SB 51 (2019), SCS/SB 271 (2019), SS#2/SCS/SB 292 (2019), SCS/HB 485 (2019), HCS/SS/SB 218 (2019), HCS/HB 581 (2019), and HCS/HB 924 (2019). OLIVIA SHANNON