Feds warned Missouri beforehand of 'serious concerns' with anti-discrimination law change
JEFFERSON CITY • Federal officials warned a Missouri official in February that a bill pending in the Legislature would not align with the federal law, a Missouri House Democrat said Wednesday.
Joseph A. Pelletier, director of the Fair Housing Assistance Program, said the legislation raised "extremely serious concerns" in a letter to Alisa Warren, executive director of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights — concerns that would jeopardize the state's participation in the federal Fair Housing Assistance Program.
House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, released the letter on Wednesday. She said it makes clear Gov. Eric Greitens' administration knew that federal funding was at risk, yet it opted not to address problem provisions in the bill.
Greitens signed the controversial Senate Bill 43 over the summer.
HUD has since threatened to pull an estimated $500,000 in funds connected to the Fair Housing Assistance Program if the Legislature does not repeal problem parts of the law by March 1, 2018.
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