HCS HB 187 & 235 -- COURT PROCEDURES

SPONSOR:  Stevenson (Flook)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Judiciary
by a vote of 7 to 5.

This substitute changes the laws regarding court procedures.  In
its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Repeals the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and
establishes in its place, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction
and Enforcement Act.  The act specifies the procedures,
priorities, and factors to be considered in initial custody
jurisdiction determinations, continuing jurisdiction
determinations, modification of custody determinations, and
emergency orders.  Family access orders may be filed relating to
establishment or modification of custody or visitation including,
but not limited to, dissolution, modification, third-party
visitation, or paternity;

(2)  Extends the expiration date of the Statewide Court
Automation Fund fee from September 1, 2009, to September 1,
2019, and allows the Court Automation Committee to continue to
function until September 1, 2021;

(3)  Exempts a tenant from liability for rent payments during the
remainder of the term of the lease agreement when his or her
residence is destroyed by an act of God or other natural or
man-made disaster unless the tenant caused the disaster;

(4)  Removes the certified mail requirement for service of
summons in landlord tenant actions and replaces it with a regular
mail requirement;

(5)  Removes the 30-day provision regarding court summons and
requires a defendant to appear within 10 days.  Currently, a
court summons requires a defendant to appear before an associate
circuit judge no less than 10 days nor more than 30 days from the
date the summons was delivered;

(6)  Allows, beginning January 1, 2010, a corporation to file a
corporate registration report on a biennial basis and to change
the month of its corporate registration report by designating the
desired month and paying an additional $20 fee.  Corporations
incorporated in an even-numbered year may only file a report in
an even-numbered year, and corporations incorporated in an
odd-numbered year may only file a report in odd-numbered years.
The fee for filing the biennial report will be $80 if filed in a
written format and $30 if in an electronic format.  Any
corporation filing a biennial report must maintain the
registration for two years, but may choose to file an annual
registration in subsequent years.  The Secretary of State is
allowed to collect an additional $10 fee for each biennial
corporate report to be credited to the Secretary of State's
Technology Trust Fund Account;

(7)  Authorizes the Secretary of State to charge a $45 fee for a
corporate filing of the original articles of organization in an
electronic format;

(8)  Changes the deadline when the Secretary of State may
commence a proceeding to dissolve a corporation for failing to
deliver its corporate registration report to within 90 days after
it is due.  Currently, the Secretary of State may commence a
proceeding if the report is not delivered within 30 days after it
is due;

(9)  Allows the Secretary of State to administratively cancel the
articles of organization of limited liability companies and
limited liability partnerships if the period of duration on the
articles expires and the company or partnership does not amend
the articles in a timely manner.  The Secretary of State may
rescind a cancellation under certain circumstances;

(10)  Allows anyone 18 years of age or older who was found
incompetent under Section 632, RSMo, by admission either
voluntary or involuntarily into a mental health facility, to
petition the probate court for a removal of the disqualification
to purchase, possess, or transfer a firearm.  Individuals must
prove that they no longer suffer from the condition that rendered
them incompetent and that they pose no danger to themselves or
others;

(11)  Reclassifies all state court commissioners to associate
circuit court judges after January 1, 2010, and transfers six
newly reclassified state court commissioners to different
judicial circuits;

(12)  Allows drug court commissioners to serve as family court
commissioners if needed and available and appointed by a majority
of the circuit court judges;

(13)  Removes Taney County from the 38th Judicial Circuit and
creates the 46th Judicial Circuit to be comprised of Taney County
beginning January 1, 2011;

(14)  Allows the required annual report of the Judicial Finance
Commission to be combined with any other annual report prepared
by the Missouri Supreme Court or the Office of State Courts
Administrator if it is distributed to the required parties;

(15)  Changes certain caseload reporting requirements for
municipal and associate circuit court judges;

(16)  Adds an additional $3 fee to all cases to be deposited into
the circuit clerk's preservation fund.  Two dollars is to be
retained by the clerk and used for record storage and public
access to records, and $1 will be forwarded to the Secretary of
State for additional record preservation;

(17)  Allows providers of targeted case management clients in the
Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Department of
Mental Health to be treated as agents of the division;

(18)  Allows the costs and expenses related to the prosecution of
a suit by an indigent person to be waived without motion and
court approval if the person has enlisted the assistance of a law
student legal aid clinic to represent him or her;

(19)  Removes the provision that allows judges to appoint a
nonboard-certified court reporter in the absence of an official
court reporter due to illness for up to six months; and

(20)   Requires circuit clerks to remove any information from
court records filed after January 1, 2010, that could be used to
identify or locate the victim of a sexual crime.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $634,186
in FY 2010, $1,160,991 in FY 2011, and $1,922,898 in FY 2012.
Estimated Income on Other State Funds of $141,958 in FY 2010,
$266,780 in FY 2011, and $100,000 in FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters of House Bill 187 say that Missouri is
one of only four states that has not adopted the changes to the
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act.
Currently, Missouri can be a haven for parents who kidnap their
children and take them to Missouri in direct violation of a court
order.  Priority should be to protect families first and foremost
which is accomplished in the bill.

Supporters of House Bill 235 say that the bill will extend court
automation enabling public services like Casenet to continue.
Eliminating court automation would lead to information taking
months to get to the people who need it.

Testifying for HB 187 were Representative Flook; Larry Swall; and
Missouri Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Testifying for HB 235 were Representative Smith (150); Missouri
Bar; Dan O'Hearn, Missouri Judicial Commission; Office of State
Courts Administrator; and Phil Wright, Associate Circuit Court
Judges and Probate Judges.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:24 am