HCS HB 1540 -- INFRACTIONS

SPONSOR:  Lipke

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention by a vote of 10 to 0.

This substitute increases the penalty for certain traffic
violations from an infraction to a class C misdemeanor.  Any
person operating a commercial vehicle in violation of Section
307.400, RSMo, will be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

Beginning January 1, 2012, the substitute requires the judicial
procedure for an infraction to be the same as for a misdemeanor.
If a defendant fails to appear in court either solely for an
infraction or for an infraction committed in the same course of
conduct as a criminal offense or fails to respond to a notice of
an infraction from the Central Violations Bureau, the court may
issue a default judgment for court costs and fines for the
infraction unless the court determines that good cause or
excusable neglect exists for the defendant's failure to appear.
A court may issue a warrant for failure to appear for any
violation which is classified as an infraction.

The substitute repeals and re-enacts provisions regarding obeying
signals or directions of a law enforcement officer while
traveling on a road when the officer is enforcing any infraction.

The substitute contains an emergency clause for the provisions
regarding judicial procedures for infractions and obeying signals
or directions of a law enforcement agent while traveling on a
road.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2011, FY 2012, and
FY 2013.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill addresses some
confusion among county prosecutors regarding recent changes in
the penalty for some traffic violations from a misdemeanor to an
infraction on whether or not they have authority to file these
charges.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Lipke; Office of
State Courts Administrator; Missouri State Troopers Association;
Missouri Office of Prosecution Services; Missouri Sheriffs
Association; and Missouri Associate Circuit Judge Voluntary Fund.

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 3:11 pm