Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
My first legislative session helping to represent the Missouri Press Association ended on May 15 with great relief.
Relief that the state’s newspapers didn’t lose any ground. Relief that bigger issues diverted most of the attention away from legislation that would have negatively impacted us. Relief that the majority of legislators still seem to have a fondness for their local paper.
I learned that MPA legislative director Doug Crews is one of the most trusted and respected people in Jefferson City. Twenty-six years as MPA executive director and nine more in his current role make him a familiar face in the offices, hallways, and elevators of the Capitol. We visited dozens of legislators, attended numerous committee hearings, and testified several times. In the interest of time, Doug would often cut right to the chase: “We don’t like this bill…”
One of the primary bills we didn’t like was the one that would allow the self-storage industry to remove their foreclosure notices from newspapers and instead advertise their lien sales “in any other commercially reasonable manner.”
What is a commercially reasonable manner to advertise, you ask? It could mean anything, but in most instances would be the self-storage company’s own website. (Have you ever visited a self-storage website? Neither have I.) If at least three independent bidders attend or view the sale, it would be deemed commercially reasonable. That could be the operator’s uncle, cousin, and neighbor.
The self-storage change was actually filed as part of three separate bills in 2025: House Bill 668, sponsored by Dane Diehl (R-Butler); HB 757, sponsored by Don Mayhew (R-Crocker); and Senate Bill 513, sponsored by Justin Brown (R-Rolla). The Mayhew bill focused on preventing the theft of catalytic converters but included two sentences that allowed the removal of foreclosure notices from newspapers.
The three bills in Missouri caught the attention of the Public Notice Resource Center, which tracks such legislation across the country. “The self-storage industry tortures transparency advocates in the Show-Me State by introducing multiple versions of the same bill every year, forcing their opponents to play whack-a-mole to ensure self-storage operators are required to inform the public before they sell their lessees’ property,” it wrote in its April newsletter.
The Mayhew bill was approved by the House on April 22 and sent on to the Senate, where it was never heard. The Brown bill passed the Emerging Issues and Professional Registration Committee on April 1 but never went any further. After an April 1 hearing on the Diehl bill by the Economic Development Committee, it never went any further either. Perhaps some of our behind-the-scenes lobbying paid off?
I can say with almost complete certainty that the bill(s) will be back next year, as the MPA has been battling this issue for at least five straight years. The Missouri Self Storage Owners Association has a strong lobbying presence at the Capitol and always seems to find a sponsor (or three) for this particular bill.
How can you help? By getting to know your representatives and senators before we need their help in quashing legislation that would negatively impact newspapers. As I mentioned in my April column, they really appreciate any coverage you give them. If you can swing it, it’s worth an annual trip to the Capitol to spend a few hours with them, to see firsthand how they are serving their constituents and the challenges of appeasing all the visitors and lobbyists who stop by their office.
I’d like to thank Mike Jenner and Dennis Warden again for testifying against bills we deemed harmful. Mike, a former newspaperman who spent 14 years teaching in the Missouri School of Journalism, spoke against two bills that would have eroded Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Dennis and I both testified against one of the self-storage bills. The Economic Development Committee showed far more interest in what Dennis had to say, asking him at least a dozen follow-up questions.
If you would like to join us next year in testifying for or against any of the bills affecting papers, please let Doug or me know.
We are OK that a bill that would allow condensed county financial statements to be published in newspapers passed in 2025. Sponsored by Peggy McGaugh (R- Carrollton), the bill also moves the deadline from the first Monday in March to June 30. Agreeing to the smaller financial statements was a compromise agreed to by MPA seven years ago; we ran the risk of losing them altogether.
I mentioned that most of the legislators still seem to take pride in their local paper(s). We observed copies on many desks or elsewhere in their offices. One of my favorite memories is Rep. Jeremy Dean (D-Springfield) digging through a pile of publications to show us a recent copy of the Springfield News-Leader.
