FIRST REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 325
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
2003
1186L.03T
AN ACT
To repeal sections 59.480, 59.490, and 160.360, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to military affairs.
Section A. Sections 59.480, 59.490, and 160.360, RSMo, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 59.480, 160.360, and 170.049, to read as follows:
59.480. [Any person who is the holder of a discharge, separation notice, certificate of service, report of transfer or discharge, or any other notice or document which is evidence of severance or transfer from military service and which contains a service record from the armed forces of the United States may demand that such document be recorded by the recorder of deeds of any county in this state, including the recorder of deeds of the city of St. Louis, and it shall be the duty of the recorder of deeds to record the document without any fee or compensation therefor.] 1. As used in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms mean:
(1) "Authorized party", any of the following:
(a) The person who is the subject of the document;
(b) The representative of a person who is the subject of the document or the agent of a person who is the subject of the document, including but not limited to, relatives, attorneys, attorneys in fact, conservators, guardians, and funeral directors; and who has authorization in writing from the person who is the subject of the document, the spouse of the person who is the subject of the document, a relative who is the next of kin of the person who is the subject of the document, a court, in order to represent the person who is the subject of the document or the executor of the person who was the subject of the document who is acting on behalf of the deceased subject of the document;
(c) Government agencies, including courts, that have an interest in assisting the subject of the document or in assisting the beneficiaries of the deceased subject of the document in obtaining a benefit;
(2) "Military discharge document", a discharge, separation notice, certificate of service, report of transfer or discharge, or any other notice or document which is evidence of severance or transfer from military service and which contains a service record from the armed forces of the United States, or any document that purports to represent a notice of separation from or service in any armed forces of the United States or any state, including but not limited to the department of defense form DD 214;
(3) "Recorder of deeds", the recorder of deeds in those counties where separate and the circuit clerk and ex officio recorder of deeds in those counties where the offices are combined.
2. Military discharge documents shall be accepted for filing by the recorder of deeds in all counties and the city of St. Louis in this state without any fee or compensation therefore.
3. The recorder of deeds may refuse to accept any military discharge document that:
(1) Is not an original or does not contain an original signature of an officer of the armed forces of the United States or a federal or state agency;
(2) Is not a certified copy from an agency of the federal or state government; or
(3) Appears to have alterations or erasures.
4. On or after the effective date of this section, the recorder of deeds shall:
(1) Maintain and make available to the public in its office an index containing only the name of the subject of a military discharge document;
(2) Maintain a separate index from publicly available information that contains only:
(a) The name of the subject of a military discharge document; and
(b) The location of the image of the military discharge document;
(3) Maintain the images of all military discharge documents separately from all other publicly available filed or recorded document images.
5. As part of any remote access system, the recorder of deeds shall not make available the location of the image or the image of the military discharge document.
6. Images of a military discharge document or copies thereof shall only be made available to an authorized party by submitting a notarized request form to the recorder of deeds. The recorder of deeds shall not receive a fee or compensation for a certified or uncertified copy of the military discharge document and shall not charge a notary fee for notarizing such request form.
7. Prior to the effective date of this section, the Recorders Association of Missouri shall adopt a request form and any rules necessary to implement the provisions of this section. The recorder of deeds in all counties and the city of St. Louis shall use and furnish the forms adopted by the Recorders Association of Missouri and comply with the rules adopted by the Recorders Association of Missouri.
8. A request form that contains more than one military discharge document shall not be accepted by the recorder of deeds.
9. The recorder of deeds shall keep all completed request forms for a period of at least five years and such forms shall be made available only to an authorized party in accordance with the provisions of this section.
10. In the event that military discharge documents, prior to the effective date of this section, have been commingled, and to the extent possible, a recorder of deeds may choose to enact the provisions of this section regarding the indexes and images.
11. On or after the effective date of this section, military discharge documents kept pursuant to this section shall not be reproduced or used in whole or in part for any commercial or speculative purposes.
12. Any individual, agency, or court which obtains information pursuant to this section shall not disseminate or disclose such information or any part thereof except as authorized in this section or otherwise by law.
13. The recorder of deeds shall not be liable for any damages that may result from good faith compliance with the provisions of this section.
160.360. 1. The department of elementary and secondary education, with the cooperation of the Missouri veterans' commission, shall develop and administer a program to be known as "Operation Recognition". The purpose of the program is to award honorary high school diplomas to civilian prisoners of war (POWs) and to [World War I, World War II and Korean War veterans] any veteran who left high school prior to graduation to enter United States military service. The department and commission shall jointly develop an application procedure, distribute applications and publicize the program to school districts, accredited nonpublic schools, veterans' organizations, and state, regional and local media.
2. All civilian POWs who are residents or former residents of the state of Missouri and all honorably discharged [World War I, World War II and Korean War] veterans who are residents or former residents of the state of Missouri, who served in the United States military [during World War I, World War II or the Korean War,] and who did not return to school and complete their education after [the war] their term of service shall be eligible to receive [a] an honorary diploma. Diplomas may be issued posthumously.
3. Upon approval of an application, the department shall issue an honorary high school diploma for an eligible civilian POW or an eligible veteran. The diploma shall also include a statement specifying that the diploma is awarded in recognition of military service experiences and civic duty responsibilities. The diploma shall indicate the civilian POW's or veteran's school of attendance. The department and commission shall work together to provide school districts, schools, communities and veterans' organizations with information about hosting a diploma ceremony on or around Veterans Day. The diploma shall be mailed to the civilian POW or veteran or, if the civilian POW or veteran is deceased, to the civilian POW's or veteran's family.
170.049. The board of each school district shall require each school in such district to devote a period of time equal to one class period to an observance that conveys the meaning and significance of Veterans Day. Such observance shall take place on or as close as possible to Veterans Day. The board, in consultation with the administrators of each school in the district, shall determine the activities which will constitute the required observance.
[59.490. The recorder in counties of the third class and the circuit clerk and recorder in counties of the third and fourth classes wherein the offices have been combined, as the recorder of the county, shall prepare and keep a separate alphabetical list of the names of all residents of the county who have been discharged or transferred or otherwise separated from the armed forces of the United States. The list shall show the veteran's name, post-office address, and the branch of service from which he was discharged, transferred or otherwise separated, the date of his discharge, transfer or other separation and the date of the recording of same, together with the book and page wherein the discharge, separation notice, certificate of service, report of transfer or discharge, or other notice or document which is evidence of severance or transfer from military service and which contains a service record is recorded. The list shall be maintained by the recorder for public inspection and shall be up to date at all times; and in addition thereto, the recorders shall furnish to all persons who have reported their discharge or transfer or other separation from the armed forces of the United States one certified copy of the discharge, separation notice, certificate of service, report of transfer or discharge, or other notice or document which is evidence of severance or transfer from military service and which contains a service record upon request of the veteran, or if the veteran has deceased since the recording thereof, then by his heir, executor or administrator. A veteran is deemed a resident of the county for the purposes of this section if he resided in the county prior to his induction into the armed forces, and returned there upon his discharge, transfer or other separation, or if he has resided in the county for more than ninety days next prior to the recording of the discharge, separation notice, certificate of service, report of transfer or discharge, or any other notice or document which is evidence of severance or transfer from military service and which contains a service record with the intention of making the county his domicile.]