JEFFERSON CITY — Today (7-3), the governor signed into law House Bills 374 & 434, which modify several areas of law relating to judiciary procedures, handled in the Senate by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield.  Crafted by the Senate Judiciary Committee under Sen. Dixon’s leadership, the final bill covered a range of issues relating to the justice system, including the reorganization of the state’s judicial circuits. 

“This bill addresses decades of legislative inaction and promotes the effective administration of justice in Missouri,” stated Sen. Dixon.  “It provides greater flexibility, allowing us to make the best use of existing judicial resources in ways that reflects population shifts, workloads, and so forth.” 

At the heart of the bill was Sen. Dixon’s proposal from Senate Bill 22, providing a framework for the state’s judicial circuit boundaries to be redrawn every twenty years, based on certain factors.  The final version grants this authority to the 70-year-old Judicial Conference, a statutory body consisting of all the state’s judges and commissioners, subject to legislative oversight.  Rep. Stan Cox, R-Sedalia, and Rep. Kevin Elmer, R-Nixa, sponsored companion House bills to SB 22 (HB 374 and HB 434). 

“To quote a former Missouri Supreme Court judge, improving ‘the administration of justice must be a continuous process.’  I’m pleased with the progress the General Assembly made this year,” added Sen. Dixon, “and I look forward to more improvements in the future.”  

HBs 374 & 434 contains several provisions from other bills sponsored by Sen. Dixon to improve judicial administration and provide greater access to justice (SB 21, SB 22, SB 45, and SB 327).  Under the bill, the state Supreme Court will also provide additional information meant to guide future legislative decisions about the allocation of judicial resources.

For more information on this bill, or other work done by Sen. Dixon, visit his website at www.senate.mo.gov/dixon.