Luetkemeyer’s Anti-Crime and Taxpayer Protection Bills Signed into Law
2020 Session Accomplishments: Making Missourians Safer and Lowering Taxes
This week, Governor Parson signed into law two major bills I sponsored: SB 600, which enhances penalties for Missouri’s most violent criminals, and SB 676, a taxpayer protection bill. One of my top legislative priorities this year, Senate Bill 600, helps ensure dangerous criminals spend time behind bars. Senate Bill 676 protects homeowners from runaway property tax assessments and shields the $1,200 stimulus checks many Missourians received through the federal CARES Act from state income taxes.
Endorsed by police groups and prosecutors, SB600 will help combat the alarming rise in violent crime in Missouri. This bill eliminates the possibility of probation or suspended sentences for individuals convicted of second-degree murder and other violent crimes. It increases penalties for armed criminal action and for felons in possession of a firearm. Furthermore, the law requires that sentences for armed criminal action and those for an underlying felony be served consecutively. Now, criminals will be not be allowed to complete these separate sentences simultaneously.
Other provisions of this legislation increase the ability of prosecutors to bring charges against individuals involved in criminal gangs, while another makes it easier to prosecute those involved in criminal conspiracies. The law also creates a separate criminal offense for vehicle hijacking.
Senate Bill 600 attracted wide support from law enforcement groups, including the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association, the Missouri State Troopers Association, the Kansas City and Missouri Fraternal Orders of Police, the St. Louis Police Officers’ Association and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. The bill also received support from the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and Missouri’s attorney general.
Also, this week, the governor signed my taxpayer protection measure, SB 676. This legislation began as a response to runaway property assessment increases many residents of the 34th Senatorial District received in 2019. As we returned to the Capitol following an extended recess due to COVID-19, I amended the bill to provide tax relief for hundreds of thousands of Missourians. Senate Bill 676 exempts the $1,200 CARES Act checks many Missourians received from state income taxes. At a time when so many families are struggling financially, it’s important that Missourians are able to keep every dollar they received through the coronavirus relief act.
SB 676 also establishes a new timeline for property assessment notices to ensure taxpayers have time to appeal increases. The bill requires county assessors to conduct a physical inspection of real estate prior to increasing a property’s assessment more than 15%, and shifts the burden of establishing higher property values to assessors. Taxpayers should have more certainty in their annual bills. This bill should help solve the problem of “sticker shock” in tax assessments.
Both of these measures were among my top priorities during this legislative session. I appreciate the support of my colleagues in getting these measures through the legislative process and I thank the governor for signing these important measures into law.
It is my great honor to represent the citizens of Platte and Buchanan counties in the Missouri Senate. Please contact my office at (573) 751-2183, or visit www.senate.mo.gov/mem34.