VIENNA — Maries County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said at the Nov. 22 county commission meeting that she had attended the recent Missouri Association of Counties (MAC) Annual Conference and Expo.

While she was there, she attended different seminars. The most popular seminar with attendees covered the recent Senate Bill 190, which Gov. Mike Parson signed into law earlier this year.

The law allows counties to adopt an ordinance or accept a petition to provide tax credits to eligible taxpayers residing in the county. People eligible for the credit are those who are eligible for Social Security retirement benefits, are the owner of — or have a legal or equitable interest in a homestead — and are liable for the payment of real property taxes on the homestead. The law freezes increases in taxes on those homesteads rather than eliminating them altogether.

In the months before and after the signing of the bill, Maries County officials have been critical of the bill and unsure of its effect on the county. Following a meeting in August with the collector and assessor about the bill’s implications, the county commission decided to take no action toward adopting an ordinance, at least until the bill was easier to understand.

Maries County is not the only mid-Missouri county with unresolved questions about the bill. According to reporting last week by the Columbia Missourian, the Boone County Commission passed a resolution requesting that the General Assembly pass legislation during the 2024 session to address the financial impacts of potential tax freezes.

During the Nov. 22 meeting, Rodgers said that after listening to the seminar at the conference, she thought Maries County might want to reconsider its stance on the bill. She said it sounded like MAC was going to push for the legislature to address the bill during its next session. If the county adopts an ordinance and the state clarifies details of the law later, then the county could issue a revised ordinance.

Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he thought there had been some misunderstandings during previous discussions about the bill because it does not eliminate all property taxes for senior citizens. It only prevents further increases in the taxes they pay on their homesteads.

Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre said he would like to know if another county has adopted an ordinance that Maries County could use as a reference.

Stratman said the next legislative session is getting close, and he expects Senate Bill 190 to be a big topic in Jefferson City this year. The commission took no action on an ordinance during the meeting.

Later in the meeting, Stratman talked about attending a gathering at the conference as a member of the MAC Agriculture/Environment Committee. He said the main point of discussion was solar panels.

Over the last year, the Maries County Commission has exchanged several correspondences with solar energy companies. Many of the companies asked about the county’s planning and zoning restrictions as part of the early communication. After being asked about the rules so many times, the commission looked into pursuing planning and zoning before deciding they did not want to do it. The majority of Missouri’s counties do not have planning and zoning, which makes regulating the activity of solar companies difficult.

Stratman said the committee discussed a variety of regulations. One was to put a tax or fee on each megawatt-hour produced by a commercial solar facility. Another was to ensure that tax assessment of solar farms is done locally and categorized as commercial rather than agricultural land. Another proposal is for counties to put administration fees on roads during solar projects. Another idea was to require solar companies to buy American-made equipment. The last idea he mentioned was putting a limit on the total acreage that solar companies can use within a county.