HCS#2 HB 406 & 726 -- CRIME

SPONSOR:  Bruns (Cox)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Public Safety by a vote of 9 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding crime prevention and
boating while intoxicated.

CRIME PREVENTION

The substitute:

(1)  Adds any moving violation, as defined by Section 302.010,
RSMo, to the list of infractions for which a court may order
payment to the county law enforcement restitution fund;

(2)  Allows the Superintendent of the State Highway Patrol to
direct members and other employees of the patrol to carry out any
public safety duty or service authorized or appropriated by the
General Assembly.  The Governor nor the superintendent can order
any member of the patrol to perform any duty or service not
authorized under state statute;

(3)  Authorized the patrol to conduct criminal background checks
on gubernatorial appointees who are subject to Senate
confirmation.  Information received by the patrol must be kept
confidential and cannot be disclosed to anyone other than the
Governor and/or members of the Governor's staff as necessary to
determine the appointee's qualifications;

(4)  Specifies that the patrol will be divided into troops rather
than districts;

(5)  Removes the requirement that the patrol superintendent must
reside in Jefferson City and be a uniformed member of the patrol;

(6)  Authorizes the patrol superintendent to enter into an
agreement with the Missouri Gaming Commission regarding the
enforcement of any law or regulation and conducting background
investigations related to the laws of this state and the
regulation of licensed gaming activities;

(7)  Requires, subject to appropriation, any retired employee of
the patrol who is a witness in any official court proceeding at
least 30 miles from his or her place of residence to receive a
per diem up to $100, mileage reimbursement, and reimbursement of
the necessary travel expenses incurred;

(8)  Increases the amount an entity requesting criminal history
record information not based on a fingerprint search must pay
from up to $5 per request to up to $9.  After January 1, 2010,
the patrol superintendent may increase this fee up to an
additional dollar per year, but cannot exceed $15.  Any entity
requesting criminal history record information based on a
fingerprint search will be required to pay a fee of up to $20 per
request.  If the request is for a concealed carry endorsement,
the fee will be $14;

(9)  Allows any state agency to require the fingerprinting of
applicants or employees in specified occupations for the purpose
of positive identification and for receiving criminal history
record information when determining the applicant's or employee's
ability or fitness for a position;

(10)  Authorizes additional compensation or compensatory time off
for overtime, court time, and standby court time in excess of 40
hours for sergeants of the police department of the City of St.
Louis.  Currently, additional compensation and time off are
authorized only for patrol officers and probationary patrol
officers;

(11)  Authorizes college and university police officers to
enforce traffic regulations on college or university property.
The officers will be required to be certified under the Peace
Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program and will have
authority under the fresh pursuit doctrine provisions in Section
544.157;

(12)  Expands the protection of the elderly against financial
exploitation;

(13)  Creates the crime of possessing or having control of a
restricted natural substance, a class A misdemeanor for the first
offense and a class D felony for each subsequent offense.  No
person will be guilty of the crime if the person owns, possesses,
manages, or otherwise controls land on which a restricted natural
substance naturally grows unless the person knowingly plants or
cultivates the restricted natural substance, harvests the
substance for any person to drink, inhale, or otherwise ingest or
allows or authorizes another person to drink, inhale, or ingest
the substance;

(14)  Specifies that it will be unlawful for any person to
distribute, deliver, manufacture, produce, or cultivate a
restricted natural substance or to attempt to or possess with
intent to distribute, deliver, manufacture, produce, or cultivate
a restricted natural substance.  A person who commits any of
these crimes will be guilty of a felony with a minimum of four
years' imprisonment for the first offense and a minimum of 10
years for each subsequent offense;

(15)  Adds Zopiclone, its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers to
the list of Schedule IV controlled substances and Pregabalin to
the list of Schedule V controlled substances;

(16)  Requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to
develop a program, subject to appropriation, to monitor the
prescribing and dispensing of all Schedule II through Schedule V
controlled substances by all licensed professionals who prescribe
or dispense these substances in Missouri.  The dispenser is
required to electronically submit to the department information
for each prescription and specifies the frequency of the
submissions.  The department is allowed to issue a waiver to a
dispenser who is unable to submit the required information
electronically.  If a waiver is obtained, a dispenser can submit
the required information in paper format or by other approved
means.  All submitted prescription information is to be
confidential.  Exceptions to this requirement include violations
of the law or breaches of professional standards which result in
an investigation and the submission or the release of
prescription information to authorized persons.  The release of
non-personal, general information is authorized for statistical,
educational, and research purposes;

(17)  Authorizes the department to contract with other state
agencies or private vendors to implement the provisions of the
Prescription Monitoring Act;

(18)  Requires the department to develop an educational course
about the Prescription Monitoring Act and, when appropriate, to
work with associations for impaired professionals to ensure the
intervention, treatment, and ongoing monitoring of patients who
have been identified as being addicted to substances monitored by
the Prescription Monitoring Act;

(19)  Specifies that the Amber Alert System is to aid in the
location of abducted children rather than adults and defines
"abducted child" as an individual whose whereabouts are unknown,
is younger than 18 years of age, and is reasonably believed to be
a victim of kidnaping or younger than 18 years of age and at
least 14 years of age who would be reasonably believed to be a
victim of child kidnaping if the person was younger than 14 years
of age;

(20)  Requires a photograph to be taken of an incarcerated
individual upon release and made available to the victim upon his
or her request;

(21)  Allows offenders to appear before the Board of Probation
and Parole by means of a video conference, rather than personal
appearance, at the discretion of the board;

(22)  Specifies that sheriffs and jailers are not required to
take custody of a prisoner from an arresting officer until that
prisoner has been examined by a physician or medical personnel if
he or she appears to be unconscious, suffering from a serious
illness or injury, or is seriously impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The prisoner will be responsible for the cost of the examination;

(23)  Allows paid police officers of a paid police department to
be eligible for workers' compensation benefits for an injury due
to psychological stress;

(24)  Increases the length of a driver's license suspension for
failing to stop for a school bus from 90 to 120 days for the
first offense and from 120 to 180 days for a second or subsequent
offense;

(25)  Specifies that any person convicted of criminal securities
fraud will be fined an amount not to exceed $1 million, be
sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 10 years, or
both.  If the violation was committed against a disabled or
elderly person, the offender will be fined an amount not to
exceed $50,000, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to
exceed five years, or both;

(26)  Allows a judge to order a probationer, as a condition of
probation, to be vaccinated for Hepatitis A and B at his or her
local health department with the costs to be paid by the
probationer;

(27)  Removes the provision of law which allows a judgment to be
entered against the prosecutor for the trial costs if the
defendant is acquitted of the prosecution of the case is
dismissed;

(28)  Specifies that any person who unlawfully distributes or
delivers any controlled substance to any person and that person's
injection, inhalation, or ingestion of the controlled substance
causes his or her death will be guilty of involuntary
manslaughter;

(29)  Revises the definitions of "domestic assault offense" and
"intoxication-related offense" to include any offense committed
in another state or any federal or military offense which, if
committed in Missouri, would be considered a domestic assault
offense or an intoxication-related offense;

(30)  Expands the crime of assault of a law enforcement officer,
emergency personnel, or probation and parole officer in the
first, second, or third degree to include corrections officers;

(31)  Establishes "Ashley's Law" which creates the crime of
transporting a child without parental consent when a person
transports a child younger than 17 years of age out of the state,
without the written consent of the child's parent or legal
guardian, for the purpose of committing a crime with the child as
the victim or a participant of that crime.  The crime will be a
class C felony;

(32)  Prohibits certain sexual offenders from being physically
present or loitering within 500 feet of or approaching,
contacting, or communicating with any child younger than 18 years
of age in any child care facility building or the real property
comprising any child care facility when children younger than 18
years of age are present in the building unless the person is the
parent, guardian, or custodian of a child in the building or on
the grounds.  Any person who violates the provisions of the
substitute will be guilty of a class A misdemeanor;

(33)  Changes the term "stealing-related offense" to include
robbery and clarifies that a person who has pled guilty to or
been found guilty of two separate stealing offenses, which were
committed on two separate occasions, will be guilty of a class B
felony;

(34)  Increases the penalty for the crime of possessing child
pornography from a class C felony to a class B felony;

(35)  Creates the crime of false identification if a prisoner or
offender knowingly and with the purpose to mislead gives a false
name, date of birth, or Social Security number when identifying
himself or herself to a person who is an employee of a jail or
correctional center.  False identification will be a class C
felony;

(36)  Increases the penalty for the crime of making a false
report from a class B misdemeanor to a class A misdemeanor;

(37)  Creates the crime of disarming a peace or correctional
officer if a person intentionally removes from or deprives the
peace or correctional officer of the use of his or her firearm or
other deadly weapon while the officer is acting within the scope
of his or her official duties.  The crime, a class C felony, does
not include situations in which the person does not know or could
not reasonably have known that the person was a peace or
correctional officer or if the officer was engaged in felonious
conduct at the time of the disarmament;

(38)  Expands the crime of tampering with a judicial proceeding
to include a person whose purpose is to influence the official
actions of a state prosecuting or circuit attorney;

(39)  Increases the penalty for the crime of assault on a police
animal from a class C to a class A misdemeanor;

(40)  Transfers all powers, duties, and functions of
administering the testing of blood-alcohol content from the
Department of Health and Senior Services to the Department of
Transportation;

(41)  Allows a court to order a person's vehicle impounded for up
to one year as part of a penalty for driving while intoxicated if
the vehicle is not jointly owned or leased.  The offender will be
responsible for all costs associated with towing and storing the
vehicle.  Before ordering impoundment, the court must examine
whether the impoundment would result in the loss of employment,
an inability to attend school, or an inability to obtain medical
care for the offender or a member of the offender's family.  An
owner who refuses to pay the impoundment fees or who fails to
retrieve the vehicle within 30 days after the impoundment period
will be considered to have abandoned the vehicle.  When the
vehicle is being leased and the lease expires in less than a
year, the impoundment period terminates at the conclusion of the
lease;

(42)  Prohibits the use or possession of an alcohol beverage
vaporizer.  Any substance that has been approved by the federal
Food and Drug Administration as an over-the-counter or
therapeutic drug product administered by an authorized medical
practitioner is exempt;

(43)  Establishes the Address Confidentiality Program,
administered by the Office of the Secretary of State, to protect
victims of domestic violence by establishing a designated address
for victims and their minor children.  Knowingly submitting a
misrepresented application will be a class D felony;

(44)  Prohibits an individual who is required to register on the
sexual offender registry from owning or operating a sexual
offender treatment facility for more than one person.  Previously
established facilities and those contracted through government
bodies are exempt.  Violation of this provision will be a class A
misdemeanor;

(45)  Requires the Peace Officer Standards Training (POST)
Commission to make instruction available to peace officers on the
investigation of crimes involving the use of a computer, the
Internet, or both;

(46)  Requires peace officers who make traffic stops to receive
three hours of training within the law enforcement continuing
education three-year reporting period.  All continuing education
requirements will be waived for any peace officer who is
activated for military duty;

(47)  Expands the number of members on the Peace Officers
Standards and Training Commission from nine to 11 by including
two members who are peace officers at or below the rank of
sergeant employed by a political subdivision.  No more than two
members of the commission can reside in the same congressional
district or be employees of the same law enforcement agency;

(48)  Allows the Director of the Department of Public Safety to
establish rules to implement the POST Program;

(49)  Requires crime victims to be paid up to $250 from the Crime
Victims' Compensation Fund to replace clothing, bedding, or other
personal items seized by law enforcement as evidence of a crime;

(50)  Allows victims to be represented by an appointed person
instead of appearing in person during the offender's parole and
probation revocation hearings.  The victim's appointee who honors
any subpoena to testify in or attend a criminal proceeding is
protected from discharge by any employer or from using vacation,
personal, or sick leave to attend any criminal proceeding;

(51)  Allows records and documents pertaining to internal
investigations by a law enforcement agency on the fitness and
conduct of a law enforcement officer employed by the agency used
solely in connection with matters relating to the employment of
the officer to remain confidential unless the records and
documents are used in a criminal investigation;

(52)  Allows the department to establish rules recommending
procedures for issuing missing/endangered person advisories;

(53)  Revises the continued educational training requirements of
911 telecommunicators from 16 hours in a two-year period to 24
hours every three years;

(54)  Specifies that the members of the Missouri Medal of Valor
Board will be appointed by the Governor from a list submitted by
the department director; and

(55)  Creates the Reverend Nathaniel Cole Memorial Pursuit
Reduction Grant in the state treasury to be administered by the
department director.  Any money appropriated or donated to the
fund will be used to provide grants, in the amount of a 50%
match, to urban police departments who purchase real-time tagging
and tracking pursuit management systems.

BOATING WHILE INTOXICATED

The substitute:

(1)  Specifies that a person commits the crimes of negligent
operation of a vessel, operating a vessel while intoxicated,
involuntary manslaughter with a vessel, assault with a vessel in
the second degree, and operating a vessel with excessive blood-
alcohol content on any waters of this state.  Currently, those
crimes can only be committed on the Mississippi River, Missouri
River, or any lake in this state;

(2)  Specifies that a person convicted of a second violation of
the crime of operating a vessel with excessive blood-alcohol
content within 10 years of a first offense will be guilty of a
class A misdemeanor and placed on probation for a period of two
years;

(3)  Specifies that a person convicted of a third violation of
the crime of operating a vessel with excessive blood-alcohol
content within 20 years of two prior offenses will be guilty of a
class D felony and placed on probation for a period of three
years.  The individual will be prohibited from operating a vessel
for a period of five years from the date of the third conviction;

(4)  Lowers the weight of alcohol necessary in a person's blood
in order for there to be a presumption that the person is
intoxicated from .1 of 1% to .08 of 1%;

(5)  Defines "prior offender" as any person who has pled guilty
to or been found guilty of one intoxication-related boating
offense within five years of the intoxication-related boating
offense for which the person is charged.  A person proved to be a
prior offender will be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and will
not be eligible for probation or parole until he or she has
served a minimum of five days' imprisonment;

(6)  Defines "persistent offender" as a person who has pled
guilty to or been found guilty of two or more intoxication-
related boating offenses, involuntary manslaughter with a vessel,
assault with a vessel in the second degree, or assault of a law
enforcement officer in the second degree while in an intoxicated
condition or under the influence of controlled substances
operates a vehicle or motorboat to cause injury to the law
enforcement officer.  A person proved to be a persistent offender
will be guilty of a class D felony and will not be eligible for
probation or parole until he or she has served a minimum of 10
days' imprisonment;

(7)  Defines "aggravated offender" as a person who has pled
guilty to or been found guilty of three intoxication-related
boating offenses or has pled guilty to or been found guilty of
one of more intoxication-related boating offense and any of the
following:  involuntary manslaughter with a vessel, assault with
a vessel in the second degree, or assault of a law enforcement
officer in the second degree while in an intoxicated condition or
under the influence of controlled substances operates a vehicle
or motorboat to cause injury to the law enforcement officer.  A
person proved to be an aggravated offender will be guilty of a
class C felony and will not be eligible for probation or parole
until he or she has served a minimum of 60 days' imprisonment;

(8)  Defines "chronic offender" as a person who has pled guilty
to or been found guilty of four or more intoxication-related
offenses; has pled guilty to or been found guilty of, on two or
more separate occasions, any combination of the following:
involuntary manslaughter with a vessel, assault with a vessel in
the second degree, or assault of a law enforcement officer in the
second degree while in an intoxicated condition or under the
influence of controlled substances; or has pled guilty to or been
found guilty of two or more intoxication-related offenses and any
of the following:  involuntary manslaughter with a vessel,
assault with a vessel in the second degree, or assault of a law
enforcement officer in the second degree while in an intoxicated
condition or under the influence of controlled substances
operates a vehicle or motorboat to cause injury to the law
enforcement officer.  A person proved to be a chronic offender
will be guilty of a class B felony and will not be eligible for
probation or parole until he or she has served a minimum of two
years' imprisonment; and

(9)  Specifies that no prior, persistent, aggravated, or chronic
offender will be given an imposition of sentence.

The provisions of the substitute regarding the Address
Confidentiality Program will expire six years from the effective
date.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of Unknown -
exceeding $1,131,319 in FY 2008, Unknown - exceeding $678,453 in
FY 2009, and Unknown - exceeding $688,787 in FY 2010.  Estimated
Income of Other State Funds of $2,871,938 to $2,835,218 in
FY 2008, $3,445,713 to $3,408,993 in FY 2009, and $3,791,324 to
$3,754,604 in FY 2010.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters for House Bill 406 say that our statutes
regarding boating while intoxicated currently require a higher
blood-alcohol content level than those regarding driving while
intoxicated.  The bill will make those laws consistent.  Boaters
cannot distinguish what direction other boats with spotlights are
traveling.  The bill will prohibit boats from spotlighting.

Supporters for House Bill 726 say that the bill provides clean-up
language for a similar bill passed last session.

Testifying for HB 406 were Representatives Schad and Jones (117);
State Water Patrol; Tri-County Lodging Association; Jim Moody,
Lake Area Convention Visitors Bureau; Water Patrol Association;
and Missouri Canoe and Floaters Association.  Testifying for
HB 726 were Representative Lipke; Missouri Municipal League;
Missouri Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and Missouri Chiefs
of Police.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose House Bill 726 say that Missouri
investigative reports should be open and treated like other
reports.

Testifying against HB 726 was Missouri Press Association.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:19 am