JEFFERSON CITY - Boone County could add storm water runoff damage and old tires to its nuisance reduction ordinance, under legislation heard by the House Crime Prevention Committee on Wednesday.

The bill allowing the expansion cleared the Senate late last month.

"Waste tires are always a problem in every county because water gets in them," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia. The collected water can cause mosquito and health problems, he said.

Schaefer said Boone county officials came to him asking for old tires and storm water runoff damage to be added to the list of items under the nuisance ordinance, which already includes items such as "derelict" vehicles, garbage and excessive weeds.

"These are just things that we find are nuisances regularly," Boone County Commissioner Karen Miller said of the runoff damage and tires. She said taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for tire disposal; the property owner should.

Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, presented the bill at the hearing on behalf of Schaefer, saying that sometimes a house, while being built, causes storm water runoff that can damage nearby homes. This legislation would allow counties to require builders or homeowners to build structures that prevent water damage.

Hobbs said Columbia's growing size is one reason to consider this legislation. The bill wouldn't require counties to draft ordinances but gives them the option to. 

"It's up to the county to draft ordinances that are common sense," he said.

The bill was discussed in the Senate last year but didn't pass. Hobbs said he hasn't had any opposition thus far in the years he's worked on it.