HCS SCS SB 829 -- JUSTICE SYSTEM

SPONSOR:  Schaefer (Lipke)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention by a vote of 11 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding the justice system.
In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Specifies that Jefferson County cannot adopt any charter
provision or any order or ordinance that prevents the county from
contracting out the county's probation services with a private
entity (Section 66.720, RSMo);

(2)  Adds Cass County to those counties that may prosecute and
punish violations of its county orders in the circuit or
municipal court (Section 67.320);

(3)  Adds the counties of Andrew, Buchanan, Cass, Clinton, and
Livingston to the list of counties authorized to enact nuisance
abatement ordinances regarding the condition of real property,
including land with tires or storm water runoff conditions
resulting in damage to buildings or infrastructure.  No county
will have the power to adopt any ordinance, resolution, or
regulation governing any railroad company regarding these
nuisance abatements.  Currently, certain cities, including
specific third class cities, are allowed to remove weeds and
trash at the owner's expense as a special tax bill if the
property is in violation of the city ordinances more than once
during the year.  The substitute allows any third class city to
have this power (Sections 67.402 and 71.285);

(4)  Specifies that any person who recklessly uses or possesses
with an intent to use any drug paraphernalia to manufacture,
compound, produce, test, or analyze amphetamine or
methamphetamine or any of their analogues will be guilty of an
infraction.  Anyone who knowingly violates this provision will be
guilty of a class D felony (Section 195.233);

(5)  Adds alcohol and tobacco violations to the list of
violations that may be investigated by a multijurisdictional
enforcement group (Section 195.505);

(6)  Adds a professional therapy dog to the definition of
"service dog" as it relates to crimes against these animals or
crimes of impersonating a disabled person.  "Professional therapy
dog" is defined as a dog which is selected, trained, and tested
to provide specific physical therapeutic functions, under the
direction and control of a qualified handler who works with the
dog as a team as a part of the handler's occupation or profession
but does not include dogs used by volunteers in visitation
therapy (Section 209.200);

(7)  Lowers the age limit for juvenile court jurisdiction for a
person who violates a state or municipal traffic violation from
15 l/2 to 15 years of age (Section 211.031);

(8)  Authorizes the Department of Corrections to receive and
disburse grants and federal funds (Section 217.045);

(9)  Specifies that a person who recklessly operates a vehicle on
any highway in the state without a valid license or any
motorcycle or motortricycle without a valid license that shows
the person has successfully passed an examination for its
operation will be guilty of an infraction.  A person who
knowingly violates this provision will be guilty of a class A
misdemeanor.  Any person convicted a third or subsequent time of
operating a vehicle, motorcycle, or motortricycle without a valid
license will be guilty of a class D felony if the prior
convictions were misdemeanors (Section 302.020);

(10)  Specifies that any person who knowingly commits the crime
of driving while revoked will be guilty of a class A misdemeanor
and any person who recklessly violates this provision will be
guilty of an infraction.  No person who pleads guilty to or is
found guilty of a felony or misdemeanor of driving while revoked
will be granted a suspended imposition of sentence or be eligible
for parole or probation until he or she has served a minimum of
48 consecutive hours of imprisonment unless he or she performs at
least 10 days involving 48 hours of court-supervised community
service (Section 302.321);

(11)  Specifies that any owner of a motor vehicle registered or
required to be registered in this state who knowingly operates,
registers, or permits another person to operate the vehicle
without maintaining the required financial responsibility will be
guilty of a class C misdemeanor.  A person who recklessly
violates this provision will be guilty of an infraction (Section
303.025);

(12)  Allows the judge in a criminal or municipal case that is
dismissed before the defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty
to assess court costs against the defendant as specified in
Section 488.012 if the defendant consents to pay and is not
indigent and is able to pay the costs (Sections 479.260 and
488.5032);

(13)  Requires an individual who is found guilty in any criminal
case in a circuit court to be assessed a $30 surcharge and
removes the provision assessing the surcharge to an individual
who pled nolo contendere in these cases.  A $15 surcharge is
authorized in all other court proceedings in all other criminal
cases except for traffic violation cases where the defendant is
found guilty, and the provision assessing the surcharge to an
individual who pled nolo contendere in these cases is repealed.
Currently, these funds are deposited into the General Revenue
Fund if the state's general revenue did not increase by 2% or
more in the previous fiscal year.  The substitute repeals this
provision and requires these moneys to be deposited into the DNA
Profiling Analysis Fund to be used only by the State Highway
Patrol Crime Lab (Section 488.5050);

(14)  Increases the amount of the security required on a writ of
attachment from $100 to not less than $500 (Section 491.170);

(15)  Specifies that no indictment or information can be deemed
invalid nor can any trial, judgment, or other proceeding be
stayed, arrested, or in any manner affected in the case of any
sexual or felony offense for the omission of the defendant's name
if the identity of the defendant is unknown at the time the
indictment or information is brought and the indictment or
information describes the defendant as a person whose name is
unknown but who has a particular DNA profile (Section 545.030);

(16)  Authorizes each prosecuting attorney to, upon agreement
with an accused or a defendant, to divert a criminal case to a
prosecution diversion program for a period of six months to two
years allowing for any statute of limitations to be tolled for
that time.  The prosecuting attorney may divert a case out of the
criminal justice system that is nonviolent, nonsexual, and does
not involve a child victim or the possession of an unlawful
weapon, does not constitute a violation of a current condition of
probation or parole, and is not a traffic offense in which the
accused or defendant was a holder of a commercial driver's
license or was operating a commercial motor vehicle at the time
of the offense.  The prosecuting attorney is also allowed to
divert a case if he or she determines that the advantages of
utilizing prosecution diversion outweighs the advantages of
immediate court activity.  The accused or defendant must submit
to all program requirements, and any newly discovered criminal
behavior while in the program will immediately forfeit his or her
right to continued participation.  The prosecuting attorney is
authorized to establish any other criteria for the program and to
impose conditions, such as remaining free of criminal behavior,
payment of restitution, and payment of an administrative handling
fee of $100 for each case diverted upon the behavior and conduct
of the accused or defendant during participation in a program.
The administrative handling fee collected is to be deposited into
the newly created administrative handling cost fund and expended
for use by a prosecuting or circuit attorney for the expenses of
the program.  The prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney must
collect an additional $5 per case for deposit into the Missouri
Office of Prosecution Services Fund.  Any person participating in
the prosecution diversion program has the right to insist on
criminal prosecution for the offense for which he or she is
accused at any time and may have counsel present during all
phases of the diversion proceedings, but counsel is not required.
After successful completion of the program and any conditions
imposed to the satisfaction of the prosecuting attorney, the
person is entitled to a dismissal or alternative disposition of
the charges against him or her (Section 557.014);

(17)  Specifies that a defendant is not entitled to an automatic
change of judge in a probation revocation proceeding (Section
559.036);

(18)  Requires any restitution ordered by the court or agreed to
by the parties to be paid through the office of the prosecuting
or circuit attorney or another entity the office has contracted
with for the collection.  When ordered by the court, interest is
allowed to be charged on any collection amount.  Any prosecuting
or circuit attorney who collects restitution will also collect
from the person paying restitution an administrative handling
cost in addition to all other costs and fees allowed by law.  The
cost will be $25 for restitution of less than $100 and $50 for
restitution between $100 and $249.  For restitution of $250 or
more, the cost will be 10% of the total restitution, not to
exceed $75.  In addition to the administrative handling cost, an
installment cost will be assessed in the amount of $2 for each
restitution payment except for the first payment.  The county
treasurer is to deposit the costs collected and the restitution
payments received into the newly created administrative handling
cost fund which is to be a separate interest-bearing fund.  The
prosecuting or circuit attorney is required to collect from the
person paying restitution an additional $5 per crime victim to
whom restitution is being paid to be deposited into the Missouri
Office of Prosecution Services Fund.  The substitute specifies
how the moneys are to be used and that the fund may be audited by
the State Auditor or the appropriate auditing agency (Section
559.100);

(19)  Specifies that a court may set an amount of restitution to
be paid by a defendant who is incarcerated with the amount being
taken from the inmate's account at the Department of Corrections.
The prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney may refer any
failure to pay restitution as a condition of conditional release
or parole to the Board of Probation and Parole within the
department for enforcement (Section 559.105);

(20)  Authorizes the department director to establish, as a
three-year pilot program, a mental health assessment process.
Upon a motion filed by the prosecutor in a criminal case, the
judge who is hearing the case may request that an offender be
placed in the department for 120 days for a mental health
assessment and for treatment if it appears that the person has a
mental disorder or illness.  The offender must qualify for
probation including community psychiatric rehabilitation
programs, and the probation must be appropriate and consistent
with public safety for the offender to be eligible for placement.
Before the judge rules on the motion, the victim must be given
the opportunity to be heard by the court.  Upon recommendation of
the court, the department must determine the offender's
eligibility for the mental health process.  Following the
assessment and treatment period, an assessment report must be
sent to the sentencing court.  The court, if appropriate, may
release the offender on probation that is supervised by a state
probation and parole officer who must work with the Department of
Mental Health to enroll eligible offenders in community
psychiatric rehabilitation programs.  A person convicted of
certain specified serious offenses, any offense where probation
or parole is prohibited, or who has been found to be a predatory
sexual offender is not eligible for probation.  At the end of the
three-year pilot, the directors of the departments of Corrections
and Mental Health must jointly submit recommendations by
December 31, 2013, to the Governor and General Assembly on
whether to expand the process statewide (Section 559.117);

(21)  Increases from $50 to $65 the maximum monthly amount a
person placed on probation must contribute to a private entity
providing supervision and rehabilitation services (Section
559.604);

(22)  Revises the crime of nonsupport by removing the requirement
that the parent knowingly fails to provide adequate support
without good cause and specifies that the parent commits the
crime if he or she fails to provide adequate support (Section
568.040);

(23)  Adds any elected prosecutor or assistant prosecutor with
written authorization from the elected prosecuting attorney to
the list of individuals who are exempt from certain restrictions
on the use of weapons, including the prohibition on carrying
concealed weapons (Section 571.030);

(24)  Expands the crime of making a false declaration for the
purpose of misleading a public servant in the performance of his
or her duty, a class B misdemeanor, to include when a person
provides any verbal false statement regarding his or her identity
which the person believes or knows to be untrue (Section
575.060);

(25)  Revises the process for appealing a decision regarding a
Crime Victims' Compensation Fund claim filed on or after
August 28, 2010, by allowing an aggrieved person to file a
petition with the Director of the Department of Public Safety to
have the original decision of the department heard de novo.  Any
party aggrieved by the decision of the department director may
file a petition with the Administrative Hearing Commission, and
any decision of the commission can be appealed to the appropriate
circuit court.  Currently, an aggrieved person files a petition
with the Division of Workers' Compensation within the Department
of Labor and Industrial Relations to have a decision heard de
novo by an administrative law judge.  Any party aggrieved by the
decision of the administrative law judge may file a petition with
the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission to appeal the
decision.  Any party aggrieved by a commission's decision may
appeal to the court of appeals (Sections 595.036, 595.037,
595.060, and 621.275); and

(26)  Creates the Reverend Nathaniel Cole Memorial Pursuit
Reduction Grant to be administered by the Director of the
Department of Public Safety.  Any moneys appropriated or received
from federal grants, gifts, or donations to the fund will be used
to provide grants, in the amount of a 50% match, to certain
eligible urban police departments which purchase real-time
tagging and tracking pursuit management systems (Section
650.470).

The substitute contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding the surcharge assessed to an individual found guilty in
any criminal case for deposit into the DNA Profiling Analysis
Fund, prosecution of an unknown defendant with an unknown name
but a particular DNA profile for certain sexual and felony
offenses, and the automatic change of judge in a probation
revocation proceeding.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Effect on General Revenue Fund of a cost
of More than $1,400,000 to an income of Unknown in FY 2011, FY
2012, and FY 2013.  Estimated Income on Other State Funds of
$1,400,000 in FY 2011, FY 2012, and FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will allow counties to
deal with storm water drainage nuisance problems.

Testifying for the bill was Representative Hobbs for Senator
Schaefer.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:15 pm