Missouri House committee hears bill to impose residency requirement on congressional candidates

A residency requirement would be put in place for Missourians running for Congress under a bill in the State House. 

It would require candidates to live in the districts they intend to represent for at least two years before filing to run. 

Ron Berry, a lobbyist for a group that supports term limits, testified in favor of the bill before a Missouri House committee this week:  “If you can represent any place in the state in Congress, your ideas may be different than in St. Louis or Kansas City. They could be different from Kirksville.” 

No one testified against the bill, but one committee member suggested that someone who grew up in one congressional district but now lives in another should not be barred from running in the district he or she grew up in. 

A committee vote on the measure hasn’t been scheduled.