HCS/SCS/SB 845 - This act establishes the Grand Army of the Republic Veterans' Memorial Highway on the portion of Interstate 44 from the intersection of Highway 100 at the city of Gray Summit west to the Franklin/Crawford County line. The Department of Missouri, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War shall pay for all appropriate signage.

This act establishes the Missouri State Park Board, originally created by Executive Order 86-26. The original purpose of the board remains in tact with this substitute, however the management of the historic marker program becomes the responsibility of the board here. Membership information is detailed in this act - the number is kept at the current board membership, eight; at least two of these members are to come from areas where a historic site of significant military history is located. This act defines what a "historic site of significant military history" is to mean for the purposes of this act. All members are to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The historic marker program is laid out in this act and this substitute clarifies that such program is a voluntary one, with military memorials, monuments, or markers located on state, municipal, private and other land being included on the registry. Withdrawal from the registry by private and municipal landowners is dealt with in the act. Registration fees that shall be established by the board for those landowners interested in submitting their site for inclusion on the registry, shall be utilized exclusively for the administration and management of the historic marker program.

Reporting requirements for the board are laid out in this act, the meeting time for the board has been changed to coincide with current practice by the board - they shall meet at least quarterly or when called to meet by the chairman.

The Department of Natural Resources shall not, under this act, modify or remove any registered marker without due process. Such process shall include public hearings, notice of these hearings, and a majority vote by the Missouri state park board before any change can be made.

The act directs that any monument, flag, memorial, or marker that was in place before December 21, 2002, on any site under the control of the department and has since been removed, be replaced and future modification be subject to board vote. Any person who knowingly removes, defaces or destroys monuments, memorials or markers protected under the registry shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. Finally, the possibility of relocating monuments, memorials or markers for the sake of construction or repair is accounted for, provided the monument, memorial or marker is prominently displayed. These provisions are contained in SB 735.
STEPHEN WITTE