JEFFERSON CITY — Last week, the Capitol Briefing focused on legislation approved by the General Assembly during its final week of session.  Highlighted in these next two columns are additional bills that made their way to the legislative finish line and now await the governor’s signature.  This week’s focus is on Senate bills.

Education

Senate Bill 599 is an all-encompassing bill relating to education in Missouri and addresses various provisions, including gifted education, standards for agricultural education, cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction, and career and technical student organizations and education, among others.

The bill requires school districts to include in their annual school accountability report card whether it currently has a state-approved gifted education program and the percentage and number of students currently served by the program.

Regarding standards for agricultural education, the State Board of Education must establish such standards, which may be adopted by a private school accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  This provision is similar to other bills relating to agriculture filed this session, including SB 491, sponsored by Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, and SB 631, both sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, and SB 635.

To promote students’ health and safety, public and charter schools (grades nine through 12) may provide their students instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an emergency procedure performed to preserve brain function until further measures are taken to restore a person’s blood circulation and breathing.

The act also requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to providing staffing support, including statewide coordination, for career and technical student organizations and programs approved by the department.  These organizations include DECA, FBLA, FFA, FCCLA, HOSA, SkillsUSA and TSA.  This section of the bill contains an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately upon receiving the governor’s signature.

Transportation

Another omnibus measure passed by the General Assembly this year addresses various transportation issues in the Show-Me State, which includes amending Missouri’s “Move Over” law and creating a third license plate for motorists.  Senate Bill 470, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R- Springfield, adds Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) vehicles that display white and amber lights to the list of emergency vehicles Missouri motorists should move over for on roadways.  This provision was also found in SB 568, sponsored by Sen. Parson, and SB 611.

The legislation also allows Missouri motorists to purchase an additional temporary license plate that matches an existing or newly issued plate to serve as a visible plate when their bicycle rack or other item obstructs the view of their license plate.  This section of SB 470 is similar to language found in SB 843, sponsored by Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue.

Another transportation measure, Senate Bill 480, changes Missouri’s law regarding motor vehicles and outboard motor titles.  The legislation, among other provisions, prohibits the creation of out-of-state collegiate or university specialty license plates for Missouri motorists.  The bill only allows community colleges or other institutions of higher education located in the Show-Me State to authorize its official emblem to be used for specialty license plates.

Senate Bill 611 addresses minimal yellow light standards, among other provisions.  More specifically, the act requires MoDOT to establish minimal yellow light change interval times for traffic-control devises.  These times must be established in accordance with nationally recognized engineering standards set by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and cannot be less than the recognized national standard yellow light runtime.

The bill also includes amendments to Missouri’s “Move Over” law, contained in SB 470, and changes the process for issuing temporary permits to motor vehicle owners, a provision that can also found in SB 470; SB 568; and SB 818, sponsored by Sen. Parson.

Public Safety

Sponsored by the Senate President Pro Tem, leader of the Missouri Senate, Senate Bill 755 enacts the “House of Worship Protection Act.”  Under this legislation, a person commits the crime of disturbing a house of worship if he or she intentionally and unreasonably disturbs a building used for religious purposes by using profanity, rude or indecent behavior, or making noise.  It would also be a crime if a person engages in such behavior within the house of worship or so close to the building that the services are disturbed.

The bill also makes it a crime if an individual intentionally injures, intimates, or interferes with any person exercising the right to religious freedom or who is seeking access to a house of worship.  The first offense is a Class B misdemeanor, the second is a Class A misdemeanor and a third or subsequent offense is a Class D felony.

Senate Bill 489, sponsored by Sen. Munzlinger, makes it a Class C felony when a person possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs or sells a switchblade knife when it violates federal law.  Currently, it’s a Class A misdemeanor.

The legislation also adopts a grandfather clause for those who were issued a firearms safety training certificate priority to the date the training requirements for concealed carry endorsement applicants were increase (2011).  This measure allows these certificate holders to receive a concealed carry endorsement without having to retake a training course.

Another measure passed by lawmakers this session pertains to several provisions relating to the judiciary.  Senate Bill 628, among other provisions, establishes the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, addresses the crime of trafficking drugs, and evaluates certain offenses on the sexual offender registry.

Composed of seven members of the House and seven members of the Senate, in which no party in each chamber may be represented by more than four members, the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect is responsible for:

• Studying and analyzing the state child abuse and neglect reporting and investigation system;
• Devising a plan for improving the decision process for removal of a child from a home;
• Determining the additional personnel and resources necessary to adequately protect children and improve their welfare; and
• Addressing the need for additional foster care homes and improving the quality of care provided to abused and neglected children in the custody of the state. 

The committee is set to expire on Jan. 15, 2018.

Currently, a person commits the crime of trafficking drugs in the first degree if he or she distributes, delivers, manufactures, produces or attempts to distribute, deliver, manufacture, or produce more than two grams of crack cocaine (second degree if he or she possesses or has under his or her control, purchases, or attempts to purchase or brings into this state more than two grams of this drug).  This provision increases the drug quantity for various sentences.

This act also requires the Joint Committee on the Missouri Criminal Code to evaluate which offenses should be removed from the sexual offender registry.  The Missouri Sex Offender Registry was created in response to legislation passed by the General Assembly to facilitate public access to available information about individual registered as sexual offenders.

A similar bill pertaining to various provisions relating to the judiciary was also given final stamp of approval by the Legislature.  Sponsored by Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, Senate Bill 636 includes a provision, among others, that may require individuals who are convicted of failing to pay the fare for use of Bi-State Development Agency facilities and conveyances, including the St. Louis Metropolitan region’s public transportation system, to reimburse the reasonable costs attributed to the enforcement, investigation and prosecution of such offense to the agency.

The legislation also creates the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, found in SB 628, mentioned above.

Election Process

A measure relating to elections, law enforcement districts and transit authority taxes also received final approval in the Legislature this year.  Sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, Senate Bill 569 removes the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June as a date available for public elections.  The bill only allows for bond elections to occur on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February.

The legislation also prohibits party emblems to be printed on the ballot above the party caption and makes it a class four election offense for an election authority or political subdivision to discourage potential candidates from filing for the purposes of eliminating the requirement to hold an election.

Several similar bills were filed this session relating to election law, including SB 671, sponsored by Sen. Parson, and SB 668.

Senate Joint Resolution 51 gives Missouri voters the option to change the state’s Appellate Judicial Commission and the selection process for the judges to the Missouri Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.  Currently, the Appellate Judicial Commission contains seven members (one Missouri Supreme Court Judge; three attorneys, who are elected members of the Missouri Bar; and three laypeople appointed by the governor).  If approved by voters, SJR 51 would change the commission by removing the chief justice and adding an additional layperson appointed by the governor.  A judge would still remain on the commission for counsel, but serve as a non-voting member.

Other measures on their way to the governor’s desk include:

• Senate Bill 469 – Sponsored by Sen. Dixon, this act modifies provisions regarding the updating and review of certain administrative rules.
• Senate Bill 635 – Modifies the law relating to financial institutions, school funds, private roads, real estate appraisal, agricultural education programs, liens, and state purchasing preferences. 
• Senate Bill 769 – Sponsored by Sen. Kraus, the legislation modifies and creates provisions relating to state and local standards, including specific enterprise zones; residential construction regulatory systems; anemometer towers that test for wind speed; and health information systems, specifically prohibiting any state law from imposing a fine or penalty on a health care provider, hospital, or health care system for failure to participate in a health information organization.
• Senate Bill 835 – Sponsored by Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, this act updates references to fireworks classifications in the Code of Federal Regulations and removes references to American Pyrotechnics Association standards.  The legislation contains an emergency clause.
• Senate Bill 837 – Sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, the bill changes what is considered to be a franchise between alcohol wholesalers and suppliers under the state’s franchise law.

Unless otherwise noted, these Senate bills will take effect on Aug. 28, 2012, with the majority of the measures passed by the General Assembly during the 2012 legislative session.

Next week, the Capitol Briefing will focus on House bills delivered to the governor throughout the 2012 legislative session for his approval.

To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can see a list of “truly agreed to and finally passed” bills, learn more about their state senator, and, see a list of committees that will meet throughout the interim.

For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom. There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:  

• Missouri Legislative Update (MLU) – A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
• Capital Dialogue – Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
• This Week in the Missouri Senate – A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
• Senate Minute – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast.
• Daily Audio / Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.  Please note: Clips linked to this Capitol Briefing are only available for the legislative week referenced in the publication.
• Daily News Clips – The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips from various print and online publications that cover issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online and is offered as a free subscription service.

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