HCS/HB 443 - This act enacts provisions relating to motor vehicle safety.ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS OF THE HIGHWAY PATROL (Section 43.253)
This act provides that a minimum fee of $6 may be charged by the Missouri State Highway Patrol for any request where there are allowable fees of less than $6. Such $6 fee shall be in place of any allowable fee of less than $6.
The Superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol may increase the minimum fee by not more than $1 every other year following August 28, 2024. The minimum fee shall not exceed $10.
These provisions are identical to provisions in the truly agreed to and finally passed CCS/HCS/SB 186 (2023), provisions in the truly agreed to and finally passed CCS/SB 28 (2023), and provisions in SS/SCS/HCS/HB 301 (2023), and substantially similar to SB 761 (2022), SB 429 (2021), and HB 2083 (2022).
MOTOR VEHICLE WINDOW TINT (Section 307.173)
This act lowers, from a class C misdemeanor to a class D misdemeanor, the classification of offense for violations of the law regulating motor vehicle window tint.
CHILD PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEMS (Section 307.179)
This act specifies that children under the age of 2 years riding in motor vehicles shall be secured in rear-facing child passenger restraint systems; except that the child may be secured in a front-facing system once the child reaches the highest rear-facing weight or height allowed by the restraint system's manufacturer.
Requirements for child restraint systems are also modified to specify that a child must both weigh at least 80 pounds and be 4 feet 9 inches tall, rather than meeting only one of these requirements, or must be at least 8 years of age, before the child shall be restrained by a standard safety belt.
The act also repeals a provision specifying that a person shall not be in violation of the child passenger restraint law if, when transporting children in the immediate family and there are more children than seating positions in the vehicle, the children who are unable to be restrained by an appropriate child safety restraint are seated in the area behind the front seat of the vehicle unless the vehicle is designed only for a front seating area.
Lastly, the act repeals a distinction between certain violations of the child restraint law to provide that all violations of the statute shall be punished by a fine of up to $50 plus court costs, rather than certain violations being subject to a $10 penalty without court costs under the safety belt law applicable to persons 16 years and older.
These provisions are similar to HB 731 (2023), SCS/SB 493 (2021), HB 1055 (2021), HB 43 (2021), provisions in HCS/HB 673 (2021), HB 2199 (2020), HB 621 (2019), HB 848 (2019), SB 1076 (2018), and HB 2304 (2018).
MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTIONS (Section 307.380)
Current law requires used motor vehicles to undergo a safety inspection prior to sale and registration. This act specifies that the inspections shall be obtained no more than 60 days prior to the date of sale, and exempts from the inspection requirement motor vehicles having less than 40,000 miles, for the 3-year period following their model year of manufacture. Sellers shall present the certificate of inspection and approval at the point of sale, and the buyer shall submit the certificate of inspection when registering the vehicle.
These provisions are identical to provisions in HCS/HB 894 (2023), and provisions in HCS/HB 207 (2023), and similar to provisions in SB 456 (2023).
ERIC VANDER WEERD