HB 726 -- Crime

Sponsor:  Lipke

This bill changes the laws regarding crime prevention.  In its
main provisions, the bill:

(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)  Expands protection for the elderly against financial
exploitation;

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

(4)  Adds Pregabalin to the list of Schedule V controlled
substances;

(5)  Creates the crime of distribution of a controlled substance
near a park, a class A felony, when a person unlawfully
distributes or delivers a controlled substance to another
individual within 1,000 feet of a public, private, state, county,
or municipal park;

(6)  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 kidnapping or younger than 18 years of age and at
least 14 years of age and who would be reasonably believed to be
a victim of child kidnapping if the person was younger than 14
years of age;

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

(8)  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;

(9)  Allows any offender to refuse parole that is conditioned on
the performance of free work.  Any county, city, person,
organization, agency, or its employee who is charged with the
supervision of free work or who benefits from its performance
will be immune from any cause of action arising from his or her
supervision of performance, except for an intentional tort or
gross negligence;

(10)  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;

(11)  Allows a judge to order the defendant in a municipal or
circuit criminal case to pay costs as determined in Section
488.012;

(12)  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 or the case is
dismissed;

(13)  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;

(14)  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;

(15)  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;

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

(17)  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;

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

(19)  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;

(20)  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;

(21)  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;

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

(23)  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;

(24)  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;

(25)  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;

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

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

(28)  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.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:20 am