Legislative Update - Feb. 2, 2024

Don’t forget! The State of the Judiciary Address will take place Feb. 7 at 10:15 a.m.

Both chambers of the General Assembly convened Monday, Jan. 29. The House dedicated most of its time to conducting hearings. However, it did pass one bill – HB 1989 – and sent it to the Senate for consideration. This measure is known as “open enrollment” and allows students to attend public schools outside their home district.

After seemingly breaking the stalemate over initiative petition reform, the Senate was involved in an overnight filibuster regarding one of the gubernatorial appointments. On Jan. 30, the Senate Local Government and Elections Committee heard the joint resolutions dealing with initiative petition reform. The committee, in executive session, determined SJR 74, sponsored by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, would be the vehicle for reform.

2024 introduced legislation

To see legislation that has been introduced, organized by subject matter or practice area, visit The Missouri Bar’s Legislative Engagement Center. The bills are automatically updated with the latest status of the bills listed, and the engagement center provides links to the individual bill webpages. If you have any questions or comments about specific legislation, please contact the bar’s government relations staff at 573-659-2280 or govrel@mobar.org.

Bar-initiated legislative proposals (2024 introduced legislation)

Committee hearings of interest

Senate

The Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee met on Jan. 29 and held public hearings on the following:

Joint Hearing on SB 744 (Arthur): Modifies provisions relating to child custody arrangements; SB 1026 (Brattin): Modifies provisions relating to child custody arrangements

• Updates the factors
• In support: Timothy Faber; Missouri Association of Family Law Advocates; Rape and Abuse Crisis Service-Jefferson City; Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; Jeff Miller; and Jeremy Roberts
• In opposition: none
• For information: Americans for Equal Shared Parenting

Joint Hearing on SB 767 (Thompson Rehder): Modifies provisions relating to the age of marriage; SB 1342 (Arthur): Modifies provisions relating to the age of marriage

• Raises age to 18
• In support: Lauren Van Wagnor; Missouri KidsFirst; Lara Underwood; Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence; and Rape and Abuse Crisis Service-Jefferson City
• In opposition: Timothy Faber

SB 1098 (Roberts): Creates provisions relating to inmate phone call fees

• In support: Missouri Appleseed and Empower Missouri
• In opposition: none

SB 1115 (Schroer): Modifies provisions relating to criminal laws

• In support: Mayor of Bridgeton; Municipal League Metro St. Louis; Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Cicero Action; and Opportunity Solutions Project
• In opposition: Missouri Organization of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Missouri State Conference NAACP; Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; and Empower Missouri,

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee met on Jan. 31 and held public hearings on the following:

SB 779 (Eslinger): Creates a human trafficking task force

• Led by the Attorney General
• In support: Missouri Police Chiefs Association; Missouri KidsFirst; and Gateway Alliance Against Human Trafficking
• In opposition: none

SB 862 (Thompson Rehder): Modifies provisions relating to money held by the Children’s Divisions for the benefit of a child

• In support: Christine Juarez; The Center for Rights of Abused Children; Missouri Coalition for Children; FosterAdopt Connect; and Kids Win Missouri
• In opposition: none

SB 863 (Thompson Rehder): Modifies provisions relating to medication-assisted treatment and child placement

• Medication-assisted treatment will not prevent reunification
• In support: none
• In opposition: none

SB 813 (Coleman): Modifies provisions relating to inspections of certain long-term care facilities

• Reduce redundancy of paperwork for facilities while maintaining quality of care
• In support: Arrow Senior Services Management and Missouri Health Care Association
• In opposition: Service Employees International Union; AARP; and VOYCE

SB 1168 (Coleman): Modifies provisions relating to public funding of abortion facilities and affiliates and provisions relating to MO HealthNet providers

• In support: Missouri Right to Life; Campaign Life Missouri; and Missouri Catholic Conference
• In opposition: Missouri Family Health Council and Advocates of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

SCS SBs 810 and 1168 (Schroer): Modifies provisions relating to eligible MO HealthNet providers

• Do Pass by a vote of 5-2

House

The House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety met on Jan. 25 and held public hearings on the following:

HB 1539 (Coleman): Imposes a judgment of restitution in the amount of $5,000 for human trafficking offenses and establishes the “Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Fund”

• In support: Gateway Alliance Against Human Trafficking; Missouri Police Chiefs Association; Neil Getzlow; Missouri Juvenile Justice Association; Child Advocacy Center – Northeast Missouri; Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; Missouri KidsFirst; Fire Service Alliance; Missouri Ambulance Association; and Missouri Hospital Association
• In opposition: none
• For information: Missouri Nurses Association
• Electronic witness forms

HB 1706 (Myers): Modifies provisions relating to human trafficking

• Combined with HB 1539

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

 HCS SH 1659 (Roberts): Modifies provisions relating to criminal laws

• Do Pass by a vote of 24-0

Archived video of committee hearing

The House Committee on Children and Families met on Jan. 30 and held a public hearing on the following:

HB 1904 (Hurlbert): Modifies the offense of abuse or neglect of a child

• Allows children some independence without parents being charged with abuse and neglect
• In support: Missouri Appleseed and Arnie Dienoff
• In opposition: none
• Electronic witness forms

Archived video of committee hearing

The House Judiciary Committee met on Jan. 31 and held public hearings on the following:

HB 1660 (Hausman): Modifies and establishes provisions relating to the prevention of child abductions

• In support: none
• In opposition: none
• Electronic witness forms

HB 1454 (Veit): Modifies the offense of tampering with electronic monitoring equipment

• In support: Hon. Dan Greene
• In opposition: none
• Electronic witness forms

HB 2109 (Christofanelli): Establishes and modifies provisions relating to the probate code

• Electronic wills
• The Missouri Bar-endorsed Bill
• In support: The Missouri Bar
• In opposition: none
• Electronic witness forms

HB 1954 (Cook): Modifies provisions relating to certain privileged information

• In support: Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
• In opposition: none
• Electronic witness forms

Archived video of committee hearing

The House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety met on Feb. 1 and held public hearings on the following:

HB 1946 (Shields): Modifies provisions governing school safety

• Keeping schools and students safe
• In support: Missouri Center for Education Safety and Travis Coleman
• In opposition: none
• For information: Missouri State Highway Patrol

HB 1510 (Murphy): Modifies and establishes offenses involving motor vehicles

• Unlocked cars stolen or broken into by gangs
• In support: none
• In opposition: none

The committee took action on the following legislation in executive session:

HCS HBs 1706 and 1539 (Myers): Modifies provisions relating to human trafficking

• Do Pass by a vote of 21-0, with 1 abstention

HCS HB 1769 (Perkins): Establishes the “Firefighters Procedural Billl of Rights Act”

• Do Pass by a vote of 21-1

Archived video of committee hearing