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19
January
2024
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09:36 AM
America/Chicago

Legislative Update - Jan. 19, 2024

Legislative work moves forward

During the week, the House focused its activities on committee hearings. The Senate held hearings, but also engaged in considerable floor debate. That debate centered on bringing initiative petition reform before the Senate for a vote, early during this legislative session.

Dates to remember

  • State of the State Address: Jan. 24 at 2:30 p.m.
  • State of the Judiciary Address: Feb. 7 at 10:15 a.m.

2024 introduced legislation

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

Committee hearings of interest

Senate 

The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee met on Jan. 17 and held public hearings on the following:

SB 799 (Fitzwater): Modifies provisions relating to motor vehicle assessments

  • 15-year depreciation schedule on vehicles
  • In support: Missouri Farm Bureau
  • In opposition: none
  • For informational purposes: State Tax Commission and Missouri State Association of Assessors

SB 808 (Schroer): Modifies provisions relating to the operation of certain law enforcement agencies

  • Returns St. Louis Police Department to State Control
  • In support: Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, Ethical Society of Police, St. Louis Police Officers Association, and St. Louis County Police Officers Association
  • In opposition: Chief of St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis Mayor’s Office, Missouri State Conference NAACP, and Empower Missouri

The Senate Health and Welfare Committee met on Jan. 17 and held public hearings on the following:

SB 801 (Fitzwater): Modifies provisions relating to child protection, including guardians ad litem and juvenile officers

  • Right to counsel for foster care kids
  • In support: Amy Fitzwater, Center for the Rights of Abused Children, and Missouri Appleseed
  • In opposition: Missouri Association of Family Law Advocates and Missouri Juvenile Justice Association
  • For informational purposes: Heather Vodnansky, Jackson County CASA, Family Advocacy Solutions, Judicial Conference of Missouri, and Coalition of Charities

SB 811 (Coleman): Modifies provisions relating to child protection

  • In Support: Missouri Coalition for Children and KVC Missouri
  • In Opposition: none

The Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee met on Jan. 17 and held public hearings on the following:

SB 746 (Bernskoetter): Modifies provisions relating to eligibility for parole

  • Sentencing of juveniles for 2nd degree murder
  • In support: Elizabeth Oden’s mother and stepfather, Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Missouri Office of Prosecution Services, and Missouri Police Chiefs Association
  • In opposition: ACLU and Empower Missouri

SB 754 (Luetkemeyer): Modifies provisions relating to law enforcement animals

  • In support: City of St. Joseph Police Department, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, Missouri Prosecutors Association, Missouri Department of Conservation, and United States Police Canine Association
  • In opposition: none

SB 760 (May): Modifies provisions relating to the critical incident stress management program

  • Adds firefighters to those eligible
  • In support:  City of St. Louis and Missouri Police Chiefs Association
  • In opposition: none

SB 788 (Razer): Creates the offense of unlawful discharge of a firearm

  • Blair’s law
  • In support: City of Kansas City, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Missouri State Troopers Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry, St. Louis City, City of Independence, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, Kansas City Fraternal Order of Police, St. Louis County, and National Association of Social Workers – Missouri Chapter
  • In opposition: none

The Senate Insurance and Banking Committee met on Jan. 17 and held public hearings on the following:

SB 736 (Crawford): Increases the limit on investments in linked deposits by the state treasurer

  • In support: Missouri State Treasurer, Missouri Bankers Association, FCS Financial, Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Missouri Independent Bankers Association, Missouri Farm Bureau, and Associated Industries of Missouri
  • In opposition: none

SB 903 (Schroer): Modifies provisions relating to settlement demands to liability insurers

  • What constitutes a reasonable time frame for insurer to settle
  • In support: Missouri Insurance Coalition, Shelter Insurance Companies, American Property Casualty Insurance Association, Missouri Civil Justice Reform Coalition, Missouri Association of Insurance Agents, Associated Industries of Missouri, Missouri Retailers Association, Missouri Grocers Association, Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers
  • In opposition: Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys

House

The House Committee on Children and Families met on Jan. 16 and held public hearings on the following:

HB 1537 (Casteel): Expands the definition of special victim to include staff members of the division of youth services

  • In support: none
  • In opposition: none
  • For informational purposes: Missouri Department of Social Services
  • Electronic witness forms

HB 1835 (McMullen): Modifies provisions relating to the placement of a child

  • Religious consideration for placement in foster care
  • In support: Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
  • In opposition: Armorvine, LLC
  • For informational purposes: Missouri Department of Social Services
  • Electronic witness forms

HB 1950 (Gragg), Modifies provisions relating to the protection of children

The House Subcommittee on Appropriations of the Budget Committee met Jan. 17 to hear presentations on FY25 department budget requests and FY24 supplemental budget requests which included those for the judiciary and the public defender.

The House Judiciary Committee met in executive session on Jan. 17 and took action on the following:

HB 1886 (Veit): Modifies provisions relating to judicial proceedings

  • HCS HB 1886 Do Pass by a vote of 11-1

The House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety met on Jan. 18 and held public hearings on the following:

HB 1659 (Roberts): Modifies provisions relating to criminal laws

  • Same as 2023 SB 189;  see August 2023 Legislative Digest for summary
  • In support: Missouri Sheriffs United, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Missouri Office of Prosecution Services, Missouri Retailers Association, Missouri Grocers Association, Missouri Police Chiefs Association, Blair’s mom, Missouri Fraternal Order of Police, State Troopers Association, Kansas City Police Department, Missouri Juvenile Justice Association, United States Police Canine Association, and The Justice Action Network
  • In opposition: Families Against Mandatory Minimums
  • For informational purposes: Missouri Public Defender
  • Electronic witness forms

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