Several days later I received a reply by, of all things, email! Thankfully, the Governor’s office sent just what I wanted: the statistics and sources behind its claims. I must note that the original graphic was updated after I sent the Sunshine request (e.g., the word “low” was removed from “Low Cost of Doing Business”). Also, while each of the office’s claims does correspond to a study, index, or ranking in the real world, your mileage may vary regarding their persuasiveness.

Some citations used by the governor are very subjective. Several of the statistics, such as “On-the-Job Training” and “Apprenticeships” were from Missouri Government agencies, which doesn’t strike me as the most unbiased source of information. The document I received also—somewhat—answers my question from the last post and clarifies the statistic as “New Apprenticeships,” but the website’s graphic remains unchanged in that regard.

In some cases, the claim is ambiguous; the second-place ranking for state-level veteran benefits is based on the number of distinct benefits offered but does not consider that one benefit may be much more or less valuable than another. Again, a very subjective ranking.

And even when the statistics could be represented more favorably for the governor, they remain misleading. The “Fourth for Personal Income Tax” is certainly not measuring the lowest or highest personal income tax rates. There are eight states with no income tax (nine if you include New Hampshire), and Missouri isn’t one of them. It turns out that the governor’s office was relying on a report that ranks governors, not states. The “personal income tax” metric is derived not only by the level of income tax, but how much it has changed over each governor’s term—the governor can thank his special session last October for getting him so highly ranked on this metric.

I do appreciate that the governor’s office didn’t drag its feet with my request and provided sources for each of the claims, but I shouldn’t have had to submit a Sunshine request in the first place. It should be standard practice for the government to include sources for the claims in the documents they produce and, more to the point, practice transparency without hiding behind a fax machine. Thankfully, there are organizations like the Show-Me Institute that employ summer interns who can hold our government accountable.

*pats self on back*

If you are interested in checking out the sources yourself, click here to see the .pdf file I received from the governor’s office.

The post Just the Fax, Ma’am: Dubious “Rankings” Press Release Emphasizes Importance of Transparency (part 2) appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Unsurprisingly, this document found its way onto my desk with a request that I—a Policy Intern of two months—was basically bred for: fact checking. And fact check I did.

My first challenge was that the governor’s office didn’t “show its work” by citing sources for its claims. A Google search allowed me to infer where some of the rankings came from, but others were harder to verify.

Indeed, I found several online sources that issued rankings that were similar but not identical to the governor’s claims.  Here, for example, Missouri is listed as sixth in cost of living, not third. Some were further off the mark; here not only is Missouri not number two for “low cost of doing business,” we’re not even on the list. And with some claims, I was completely lost. What does it even mean to be “third for apprenticeships?” Is it referring to the number of current apprenticeships? Completed apprenticeships? Apprenticeship applicants? What organization even collects that data?

After consulting longtime staff members here at the Institute, I learned a Sunshine request was probably my best way forward. Sunshine requests legally require Missouri government employees and officials to provide the requested information, provided that they actually have it. Send a request to the correct official—requests tend to bounce around like a customer service call—and if all goes well they will send back the correct records. In some cases, however, you’ll be told that the information does not exist or that there will be a charge for the collection of the information you requested.

So, I typed up a Sunshine request and went to the Governor’s website in search of a contact email to send my letter to. Instead of an email, I saw only this at the bottom of the page:

It’s 2023. Where is the email address? After browsing the website to some length, I concluded that if an email contact point existed for Sunshine law purposes, it was very well hidden. And without an email address, I had to fax it.

Dear reader: if you’re under the age of 35 there’s a good chance you have never had to send a fax before and may not even know what a fax machine is. In short, think of text messaging, but with printers.

While awaiting a response, I pondered the situation. If the Sunshine law didn’t exist, I would have been hunting snipes in my quest for the truth. Yet I felt disheartened by the need to use a Sunshine request. Not every Missourian knows how to do a Sunshine request, or even that they exist—I certainly didn’t before my time at the Institute. It is good practice in any field to cite your sources. Are governments exempt from that expectation? Citizens of Missouri value government transparency and accountability and our governor should respect that value: Show-Me your work.

Several days after I sent the fax, I received a reply. Part two of this blog discusses the response I received from the governor’s office.

The post Just the Fax, Ma’am: Dubious “Rankings” Press Release Emphasizes Importance of Transparency (part 1) appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Often referred to as granny flats or in-law suites, ADUs are built near or inside existing homes and provide a separate living space from the main house.

You might hear of the university student who rented out space above someone’s garage or in their basement to afford an education–that student is renting an ADU. And if you search Airbnb (with the filters “Entire Place” and “Guest House”), you can get an idea of what ADUs might look like.

Historically, ADUs have been used to house older family members or relatives—hence the names granny flat and in-law suite. This helps promote multigenerational living, making it easier to maintain relationships with close friends and family (which could help ease a recent increase in loneliness).

ADUs are not currently illegal by name in the City of St. Louis, but a convoluted set of regulations make it extremely difficult for many homeowners to build them; the city requires 4,000 square feet of land per dwelling unit, so residents need at least 8,000 square feet of land to build an ADU. Additionally, parking minimums and setback regulations make it very difficult to build ADUs in homes of certain sizes and shapes, even on larger lots.

ADUs can help lower-income residents afford mortgages and other living expenses while also providing an affordable living space for renters. They also have the potential to increase the value of homes for owners—the extra living space, as well as the potential to rent it out and earn passive income, can increase a home’s appeal.

Board Bill 43 will allow ADUs to be built and used in all residential zones of the city (this interactive map shows how the city is zoned if you’re interested).

Allowing people to use their properties as they see fit and strengthening the rights of homeowners will let the market work freely, increasing the amount of affordable housing in Missouri. This is a much better approach to affordable housing issues than misguided regulations and tax-credit programs.

The now awaits discussion in the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning Committee.

The post How to House Your Family—and Make it Affordable appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Often synonymous with Airbnb or Vrbo, STR properties are units intended to be rented out for less than a month. These properties provide a place to stay for people passing through and visiting St. Louis, encourage competition within the lodging industry, and bring revenue to their communities. Some owners, however, have been renting to unpredictable tenants, leading to out-of-control parties, violence, and even murder.

STR regulation has become common in major cities such as New York and London. Even some Missouri municipalities are adopting new rules. Citing similar frustrations to the City of St. Louis, St. Charles just placed a moratorium on new residential STRs in most of the city for a year.

The proposed regulations in St. Louis would, among other changes, create a permit and punishment system to hold STR operators accountable, require a Graduated Business License for owners renting out property they do not live in and a permit for individuals who rent out their primary residence, require a 24/7 available contact for the STR, and limit individuals to four permits for units they do not live in.

While some regulations on STRs are warranted due to the disturbances and dangers they can cause, parts of the proposal appear excessive.

The limit of four STR properties per owner seems like a solution in search of a problem. The city might have included a limit to prevent STR owners from operating many units (so many that someone could not realistically operate them alone) and ensuring that there is always some level of oversight for the STR properties. However, the requirements for each rental (24/7 contact, licenses, permits, punishments) should be more than enough to keep STR owners in check without more regulation. If someone can properly run several STRs without harming the community, why is the government trying to place further restrictions on them and create incentives to subvert the law?

More troubling is requiring permits for owner-occupied units. An STR is considered an owner-occupied unit when a property owner rents out a space where they live (such as a finished basement, or a garage converted into a studio). From the bill:

Applicants for a Short-Term Rental permit for an Owner-Occupied Dwelling Unit shall submit, on an annual basis, an application for a Short-Term Rental permit to the Building Division. The application shall be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee in the amount of $150.00. – Board Bill 33, Page 5, Line 19

Not only does this degrade a means by which countless people have been able to afford academic programs or help lodge friends and family, it might run afoul of state law. Missouri Statute 71.990 limits restrictions on “home-based businesses” and may conflict with the proposed bills. St. Charles’s legislation might not be legal either. It is likely that courts will have to sort out the interplay between Missouri statute and local ordinances.

Overall, these bills appear to do a good job of regulating non-owner-occupied properties. They would give communities more power in mitigating problems with STRs while not being restrictive on those who rent their property. The proposals for owner-occupied properties, however, could be improved.

My colleagues Avery Frank and David Stokes discuss their opinions on the proposed bills here.

The post On Short-Term Rentals appeared first on Show-Me Institute.