SCS/HCS/HBs 373 & 435 - This act authorizes the Supreme Court to alter the circuit court boundaries by means of a circuit realignment plan every twenty years beginning in year 2020. The Supreme Court must submit the circuit realignment plan, along with certain supporting information, within the first thirty calendar days of regular session to both chambers. The circuit realignment plan shall become effective the following January unless disapproved by a Senate or House concurrent resolution. The existing number of circuits shall not be altered, and the current circuits will remain in law until December 31, 2019. This act provides the Missouri Supreme Court with the ability to transfer circuit and associate judge positions from one circuit to another as the administration of justice requires. The Supreme Court may transfer a judicial position only when a vacancy occurs, and must consider certain criteria before determining whether to transfer the position to a new circuit. Under this act the Supreme Court will not be able to alter the existing total number of circuit and associate circuit judge positions.
The act states that the Supreme Court shall submit annually a judicial weighted workload model and a clerical weighted workload model to the chairs of both the House and the Senate Judiciary Committees, to be distributed to the members of the General Assembly.
Also, when a judicial weighted workload indicates for three consecutive years that a judicial circuit with a population of one-hundred thousand or more is in need of four or more full-time judicial positions, then there shall be one additional associate circuit judge position in such circuit. In circuits composed of multiple counties, the additional associate circuit judge position shall be apportioned among the counties based on population.
This act is similar to HCS/HB 374 & 434 (2013), SB 21 (2013), and SB 22 (2013).
JESSICA BAKER