SCS SB 1185 -- PROSECUTORS

SPONSOR:  Gibbons (Stevenson)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Judiciary
by a vote of 6 to 5.

This substitute removes the requirement that a local prosecutor
appear on behalf of the Director of the Department of Revenue for
administrative actions regarding a suspension or revocation of a
driver's license hearing and repeals outdated provisions
regarding the payment of court costs and the prosecution of hedge
fence violations.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Cost on General Revenue Fund of $21,842
in FY 2009, $7,922 in FY 2010, and $8,160 in FY 2011.  No impact
on Other State Funds in FY 2009, FY 2010, and FY 2011.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill changes the individual
who is responsible for handling petitions for the review on
license suspension for refusal hearings, removes archaic
provisions in the statutes, and removes personal liability
imposition on prosecutors.  The reason for the bill is because
county prosecutors were setting aside the refusal charge in order
to get guilty pleas for the driving while intoxicated charge.
The Missouri Ethics Commission found that since the Department of
Revenue is a client of the prosecutors with regard to the refusal
hearing, prosecutors don't have discretion to drop the refusal
charge when the department intends to prosecute the suspension.
Since the department is already handling the .08 administrative
hearing, they should handle the refusal hearings as well.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Gibbons; Brian Keedy,
Missouri Office of Prosecution Services; Mark Richardson, Cole
County Prosecutor; and Jamie Gallaher, Cole County Special
Assistant Prosecutor.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated October 15, 2008 at 3:13 pm