Davis, White back property tax credit for senior citizen renters, end up on losing side

Split votes were recorded by the six Joplin area legislators on two bills that passed the Missouri House of Representatives last week.

As reported last week in the Turner Report, Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, and Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, voted against a bill which opens the doors for charter schools in several areas of the state, including Joplin and Springfield.

Rep. Bill Lant, R-Pineville, Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Seneca, Rep. Bill White, R-Joplin, and Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, voted in favor of the bill.

On March 16, it was Davis and White who broke with the GOP colleagues and voted against a HCS 3, which eliminated the property tax credit for senior citizen renters, instead earmarking that amount for some unspecified program for senior citizens.

Lant, Reiboldt, Kelley, and Smith voted for the bill.

From the Joplin Globe:

White said many seniors are on ‘shoestring budgets.’ Renters who rely on the money from the tax credit to stay in their homes could, without the money, have to move into nursing homes. White said they wouldn't be able to live in low-income housing, especially in Joplin, as there are already 150 people on the waiting list to get in a home. ‘There's a lot of dignity in being independent,’ said White.”

The final vote was 85-72.