SS HCS HB 481 -- COURTS AND JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS

This bill changes the laws regarding courts and judicial
proceedings.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Allows the county commission in third and fourth
classification counties to appoint the county surveyor if no
qualified candidate has filed for the office by the filing
deadline in the general election when that office would have been
on the ballot and the required notice in Section 115.345, RSMo,
has been published in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in the county (Section 60.010);

(2)  Raises the maximum fine for all municipal ordinance
violations in the City of Kansas City from $500 to $1,000 except
for ordinances requiring compliance by an industrial user with a
pretreatment standard or requirement (Section 82.300);

(3)  Allows the City of Kansas City to adopt ordinances to
authorize the city building official or his or her representative
to petition the circuit court in the county in which a vacant
nuisance building or structure is located for the appointment of
a receiver to rehabilitate, demolish, or sell the building or
structure to a qualified buyer (Section 82.1026);

(4)  Requires the St. Louis City Police Department to have no
more than five members with the rank of lieutenant colonel and
other ranks and number of members within each rank as the Board
of Police Commissioners deems necessary and requires members of
the St. Louis City reserve police force to be retired city
officers and gives them the same powers as regular officers
(Sections 84.150 and 84.175);

(5)  Authorizes an additional county collector fee of 5% on all
moneys collected from delinquent and back taxes in the counties
of Jackson and St. Louis which can be added to the tax bill and
collected accordingly (Section 141.160);

(6)  Establishes a tuition and fee waiver program beginning with
the 2010 fall term for incoming Missouri resident college
freshmen who have been in foster or residential care at certain
times (Section 173.270);

(7)  Specifies that the state will no longer require families
receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits
to assign the right to receive any pre-existing child support
arrearages occurring before the family received TANF benefits.
Families will continue to assign child support arrearages that
become due while they receive temporary assistance (Sections
208.040 and 208.055);

(8)  Specifies that a detainer will not be lodged against any
person confined in a correctional facility until the Director of
the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of a
warrant and a written request by the issuing agency to place the
detainer.  Failure of the director to comply will not be the
basis for dismissing the indictment, information, or complaint
unless the court also finds that the offender has been denied the
constitutional right to a speedy trial (Sections 217.450 and
217.460);

(9)  Designates the portion of Interstate 64/U. S. Highway 40
from the McClausland/Skinker interchange east to the Interstate
64/Interstate 55 interchange as the "Jack Buck Memorial Highway"
(Section 227.409);

(10)  Repeals provisions regarding the cutting requirements of a
person owning a hedge fence situated along the right-of-way of
any public road (Section 229.110);

(11)  Authorizes the Secretary of State to charge a $45 fee for a
corporate filing of the original articles of organization in an
electronic format (Chapters 347, 351, 355, and 356);

(12)  Allows the Secretary of State to administratively cancel
the articles of organization of limited liability companies and
limited 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
administratively reinstate the company's or partnership's status
under certain circumstances (Sections 347.183 and 359.681);

(13)  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 filed to be credited to the Secretary of State's
Technology Trust Fund Account (Chapters 351, 355, and 356);

(14)  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 (Sections 351.125, 351.484, and 355.706);

(15)  Limits the total duration for which a corporate name can be
reserved to 180 days.  Currently, the Secretary of State reserves
a corporate name for an applicant's exclusive use for a 60-day
period (Section 355.151);

(16)  Establishes guidelines for the actual charges and actual
fees collected regarding an individual or a group specified
disease insurance policy (Section 376.789);

(17)  Specifies that operating a motorcycle, in and of itself,
will not be considered evidence of comparative negligence in any
action to recover damages arising out of the ownership, common
maintenance, or operation of a motor vehicle.  When investigating
an accident or settling a claim, no insurer, agent, producer, or
claims adjuster can assign a percentage of fault to a party based
upon the sole fact that the party was operating a motorcycle in
an otherwise legal manner (Sections 379.130 and 537.055);

(18)  Requires only the last four digits of a person's Social
Security number to be listed on certain court filing documents
and the full number to be kept confidential (Chapters 452 and 454
and Section 509.520);

(19)  Removes the provision allowing courts to appoint volunteer
advocates to assist guardians ad litem (Section 452.423);

(20)  Allows a judge to take any action necessary and reasonable
to prevent an international abduction of a child by a parent
(Section 452.426);

(21)  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 (Sections 452.440 - 452.550 and 452.700 -
452.930);

(22)  Revises the definition of "adult" as it relates to adult
abuse by lowering the age from a person 18 years of age or older
to a person 17 years of age or older (Section 455.010);

(23)  Requires the public administrator to serve as the trustee
or successor trustee when appointed by the circuit court or the
probate division of the circuit court (Section 473.743);

(24)  Allows an individual 18 years of age or older who has been
adjudged incapacitated under Chapter 475 or who has been
involuntarily committed under Chapter 632 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.  If the
court grants the petition, the county clerk must forward the
order to the State Highway Patrol to update the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System (Section 475.375);

(25)  Removes the municipal court judge member from the
Commission on Judicial Resources and requires the Clerk of the
Missouri Supreme Court to provide suitable staff for the
commission out of appropriated funds (Section 476.415);

(26)  Removes the provision that allows a deposition prepared by
a non-certified court reporter to be used in any court under
certain circumstances (Section 485.077);

(27)  Repeals provisions allowing a statute of limitation to not
apply for the period of time that a Missouri resident resides out
of the state (Section 516.200);

(28)  Requires a person to appear on a service of summons no less
than 10 days nor more than 60 days from the date the summons was
delivered instead of the current nor more than 30 days and
removes the requirement that if the claim exceeds the
jurisdictional limits of the court division it must be certified
to the presiding judge for assignment (Section 517.041);

(29)  Removes the requirement that the clerk of the court send
notice to a person who has had a default judgment entered against
them in an eviction action by certified mail with return receipt
requested and requires it to be sent by ordinary mail (Section
535.030);

(30)  Changes when an eviction proceeding can commence from when
the rent is six months in arrearage to when it is one month in
arrearage (Section 535.120);

(31)  Requires the judge or jury to visit the nuisance site in a
private nuisance action where the amount in controversy exceeds
$1 million if requested by either party (Section 537.296);

(32)  Specifies that any claim filed against any public entity
under the Missouri Human Rights Act will be subject to the
penalties in successor rule to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 55.03
(Section 537.610);

(33)  Removes the requirement that court costs be assessed
against the prosecutor in trespass cases if the defendant is
acquitted or the prosecution fails (Section 545.050);

(34)  Removes the requirement that when using two-way
audio-visual communication for certain criminal proceedings a
full record of the proceeding must be made by split-screen
imaging and recording of the proceedings in the courtroom and the
place of custody or confinement when a person in custody is
required to be present in court.  Two-way audio-visual
communications are allowed for preliminary hearings with the
consent of the defendant, in civil or criminal proceedings which
are not required to be a matter of record, or by the consent of
the parties (Section 561.031);

(35)  Allows the Division of Developmental Disabilities within
the Department of Mental Health to contract directly with
providers of targeted case management services for clients of the
division in a defined region that has not established a local
developmental disability services board, commonly known as a
Senate Bill 40 board (Section 630.407);

(36)  Specifies that circuit courts do not have to use a beyond-
a-reasonable-doubt standard when determining if an individual is
a sexually violent predator and for DNA profiling analysis
(Section 650.055);

(37)  Allows the court, upon motion, to award court costs and
attorney fees to the state in child support modification cases
where the state is a party (Section 1);

(38)  Requires all public advertisements and orders of
publication required by law including, but not limited to,
amendments to the Missouri Constitution, legal publications
affecting sales of real estate under a power of sale in a
mortgage or deed of trust, and other legal publications affecting
the title to real estate to be published in a newspaper of
general circulation (Section 2);

(39)  Prohibits any political subdivision of the state and any
local government or any agency, authority, board, commission, or
department or its officers from enacting any ordinance or
establishing or issuing any regulation, rule, policy, guideline,
or proclamation describing the relationship between persons and
domestic animals as other than persons may own domestic animals
(Section 3); and

(40)  Specifies that nothing in the Fire Safety Standard and
Firefighter Protection Act can be interpreted or applied to
permit noncompliance with other applicable statutes and case law
(Section 4).

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