Representative Willard Haley prefiles a piece of legislation for the 2024 legislative session. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
As the Missouri General Assembly prepares for the 2024 legislative session, House members are revealing their legislative agendas for the upcoming year. While the official commencement of the legislative session is in January, December 1st marks the true beginning for many legislators, who are allowed on that date to start filing bills for the forthcoming session. On this first day 343 bills were prefiled.
Bills that are prefiled are officially introduced on the first day of the session, January 3. Members have the ability to introduce bills until March 1.
Historically, the first day of prefiling witnesses a substantial influx of bills. For the 2023 legislative session, House members submitted 336 bills on the inaugural day, contributing to a cumulative total of 578 bills during the entire pre-filing period. Comparatively, for the 2022 session, legislators initiated the pre-filing process with 372 bills on the first day en route to total of 770 bills, deviating from the 688 bills filed for the 2021 legislative session and the record-breaking 776 bills for the 2020 session.
Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications
For the 2024 session, legislators will propose bills covering a diverse range of topics, aiming to enhance the state’s policies to better serve the needs of all residents. Some say the pre-filing process sets the tone for session. It’s when lawmakers can make their priorities known before the session begins. While that is true, it doesn’t mean those bills have a better chance of making it into law. As the statistics show, pre-filed bills are on virtually the same ground as those filed later on in the process. There is no significant practical advantage to having a low bill number, but House members still strive to be the first to file their bills. Bills are typically referred to legislative committees in numerical order, which potentially gives prefiled measures a better chance of being heard in committee.
Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications
One change that members will be subject to in the 2024 legislative session is a new provision added in the House rules during the 2023 legislative session. This new provision, outlined in House Rule 39, restricts members from submitting more than 20 bills without obtaining prior approval from the Speaker of the House. Officially implemented on July 1, 2023, this marks the first legislative session wherein members must adhere to the newly imposed cap on the number of bills they can file.
To stay informed about pre-filed bills in the House, please visit the official website of the Missouri House of Representatives at house.mo.gov and click on the “Pre-filed Bills” link. The upcoming legislative session’s first day is scheduled for January 3, 2024.
Legislators will again this year be asked to stem the thefts of catalytic converters from Missourians and in doing so, it is hoped, get some people into drug treatment programs that could improve their lives.
Representative Don Mayhew (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The House in the last two years has given overwhelming approval to bills that would make such thefts a felony, while requiring additional reporting to the state from entities that purchase catalytic converters. The same proposal will be among those filed for the 2024 session after prefiling begins on December 1.
The proposal’s bipartisan support includes Representative Aaron Crossley (D-Independence), who has himself filed a portion of that language. He said the issue has impacted his neighborhood and workplace.
Mayhew has become adept at explaining the issue, having presented it to his colleagues several times over the years. It begins with the two very different ways catalytic converters are valued: their value when stolen and scrapped, and the value to replace them.
Converters are an easy and profitable target because an experienced thief can steal one in as little as 30 seconds, and because they contain rare and valuable metals they can be sold to a salvager for anywhere from $50 to $900.
Even in the case of a new vehicle with full coverage insurance, the deductible cost is usually more than the cost of replacing the converter. Mayhew says most people who are victims of such thefts have liability coverage only.
Representative Aaron Crossley (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Democrats have been very vocal in recent years in opposing legislation that would increase sentencing in other areas of law. Crossley says in this case, however, stiffened penalties make sense.
Mayhew said there would be an element of compassion in increasing these penalties. It could get more people into the drug treatment programs of the state’s courts, which have historically been very effective.
That includes getting a photocopy of the seller’s driver’s license and recording the license plate number of the vehicle that brought in the converter – both of which are already required – and the proposed new requirements of getting the make, model, and serial number of the vehicle off of which the converter came; and providing a signed affidavit saying the converter wasn’t stolen. These new requirements would only apply to individuals, rather than established businesses.
Crossley supports the additional reporting requirements, and it is this area with which his legislation filed in the 2023 session dealt.
Mayhew notes that in the last two years, legislation dealing with this issue has passed out of the House 153-1 and 143-2, and in at least one of those cases, he said a “no” vote came from someone who thought he was voting on a different amendment. He said the legislation isn’t just a caucus priority, it’s a legislative priority.
He and Crossley hope that 2024 proves to be the year that the measure makes it into statute.
Memorials for fallen veterans, police officers, and firefighters, and for those missing in action, will no longer be paid for by the families of those individuals, under legislation that became law this year.
LCPL Jared Schmitz (Photo courtesy of Mark Schmitz)
It’s called the “FA Paul Akers, Junior, and LCPL Jared Schmitz Memorial Sign Funding Act,” and it stemmed from the efforts to memorialize those two men, both of whom died while serving their country. When legislators learned that their families were billed for the signs honoring them, they proposed the language that would have those costs paid for by the Department of Transportation.
Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, of St. Charles, was among 13 U.S. Service Members and more than 100 others killed in a suicide bombing at a Kabul airport during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. His family wanted to honor him with signs to designate an overpass on I-70 in Wentzville as a memorial bridge bearing his name.
His father, Mark Schmitz, said the family got a bill for those signs.
Schmitz, who lives in Byrnes’ district, said he supported her legislation not so much due to his family’s experience (donations covered their $3,200 cost in a matter of hours after an online fundraising effort was launched).
Representative Tricia Byrnes (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Mayhew’s experience with the issue began with an effort to honor Fireman Apprentice Paul Akers, Junior, who was killed in the January, 1969 explosion and fire on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, CVAN-65, off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii. Akers was also from Crocker.
The family of LCPL Schmitz isn’t finished honoring him. His father said they are now working to raise money for a series of 100-acre recreational retreat camps, one in each state, for veterans and their families to use for free. Each will have 13 available houses, one for each of the U.S. service people killed in the attack in which his son died.
Advocates who deal with veteran suicide and mental health issues say one of the best outlets for veterans, especially those who have experienced combat, is other veterans.
Byrnes and Mayhew sponsored identical bills. When Byrnes’ version, House Bill 882, came to a House vote, it passed 153-0. The language later became law as part of Senate Bills 139 and 127.
The first Baby Box in Missouri has been installed, and more are coming.
Representative Jim Murphy (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Baby Boxes are an extension of the Safe Haven law, which allows parents to relinquish a newborn up to 45 days old without fear of prosecution. That law, in place in Missouri since 2002, allows for babies to be dropped off at places including hospitals and fire stations, but Baby Boxes offer an option for parents who don’t want face-to-face contact.
The first Box in the state is in his district, at Mehlville Fire Protection District Station 2. There is a commitment for a second Box at Mehlville, and more fire stations in the state are expressing interest.
Murphy said the Safe Haven Law is saving the lives of children.
The box is built into an outer wall at the Mehlville Fire Station. A parent can open it, place a baby inside in a bassinet, and close the door. Alarms will alert personnel on duty, who will remove the bassinet and take the baby to a hospital.
Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Boxes Monica Kelsey helped guide the legislation that allows for these Boxes in Missouri and other states. So far more than 160 have been installed.
She said there are many reasons a parent might want to give up a child, including factors like financial struggles, mental health issues, or domestic abuse. She wants people to support those who utilize the Safe Haven Law.
The installation of this Baby Box has gotten a lot of attention, but Murphy and Kelsey want to stress that it is not the only place in the state to drop off a child.
Since its installation in August, the Box in Mehlville hasn’t been used. Since the Safe Haven Law was adopted in Missouri in 2002, 61 babies have been surrendered.
Kelsey said those who want to see a Baby Box installed in their community can contact her organization for help.
For mothers in need of help, the Safe Haven Crisis Line is (866) 99BABY1. Kelsey’s organization, Safe Haven Baby Boxes, can be found online at shbb.org.
A rifle that was created in St. Louis and was integral to the shaping of the West is now Missouri’s Official State Rifle.
Representatives Doug Clemens and Mazzie Boyd, at the recent Hawken Classic, got to fire an original 190-year old Hawken as well as a replica.
The Hawken muzzle-loading rifle was created by Jacob and Samuel Hawken, brothers who learned gunsmithing from their father before opening a shop in St. Louis in 1815. As the Rocky Mountain fur trade was getting underway, the brothers created the rifle meet the needs of fur trappers, explorers, traders, and others venturing out into then-largely unexplored parts of what today is the United States, west of Missouri.
Legislators hope that by making this one of the symbols of the state, it will draw people to learn more about this part of history.
Representative Doug Clemens (D-St. Ann) also carried the state rifle legislation, after a gunsmith friend of his approached him about the idea. Clemens, who has a minor in history, said the Hawken gave those in the frontier a reliable, high-quality weapon that was effective at very long range.
Representatives Clemens and Boyd (back row, at left) were joined in the Capitol by several historians and enthusiasts who testified on their Hawken rifle legislation .
House members this past session heard from historians who said giving the Hawken this state designation would be appropriate.
Representatives Boyd and Clemens both, at the recent Hawken Classic event in Defiance, had to chance to fire both an original Hawken and a replica. Both say they shot well with it, and they were given plaques for supporting the rifle’s state symbol designation this year. Both said it was an honor to fire the 190 year-old original, which Boyd notes, is very valuable.
Representative Mazzie Boyd holds an original Hawken rifle that was brought to her office in the Capitol on the day her bill was heard in committee.
The replica Hawken they fired is expected to go on display in the Missouri Capitol, as an addition to the State Museum on the Capitol’s first floor. Clemens is looking forward to having fun with that.
Missouri becomes at least the 10th state to have a firearm among its state symbols. That Hawken rifle language was added to Senate Bill 139, which was signed into law in July.
Escaping domestic violence in Missouri might have gotten a little easier, under legislation that became law August 28.
Representative Chris Dinkins (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
One of the greatest obstacles facing victims of domestic violence involves possession of the documents they need to start their lives over. A provision in Senate Bill 28 will provide free copies of birth certificates when those are requested by victims.
Tracy Carroll is the Assistant Director and Case Manager for the Council. As a case manager she has seen, countless times, people trying to get out of abusive situations but struggling to do so because they needed documentation.
Often, victims escape from an abusive home in the middle of the night and even perhaps during a violent incident. They leave with little more than the clothes on their back and the backs of their children, only to later realize that they need documentation to do things like get a job or enroll children in school.
The $15 apiece fee to get a copy of a birth certificate often presents a huge obstacle for someone in a crisis situation. Shelters, then, have typically covered that fee, but Carroll said that adds up quickly and takes away from other things shelters aim to provide.
The Council’s Executive Director, Stephanie Bennett, said after they met with Rep. Dinkins at an event in the capital city and brought up the issue, she recognized its importance and asked them to bring her some legislation.
Later, the Missouri Coalition for Domestic and Sexual Violence, the membership of which includes the Council and other shelters around the state, picked up the issue and advocated for it. Dinkins said that helped get the proposal the traction it needed.
Carroll said cost isn’t the only issue regarding certificates from other states. She said different lengths of delays in getting documents mean victims can be forced to sit idle, sometimes for months, before they can begin rebuilding their lives and the lives of their children.
The language in SB 28 authorizes a waiver of the fee for a Missouri birth certificate when a victim of domestic violence or abuse requests it, documentation signed by a victim advocate; attorney; or health or mental health care provider who has assisted that person accompanies that request.
Missouri’s newly-enhanced distracted driving law takes effect on Monday, and House members say it’s a message to drivers in the state: put your phones down.
Representative Jeff Knight (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
After years of the General Assembly considering and rejecting bans on texting while driving, the legislature this year agreed to a ban that covers holding a phone; the typing or sending of text-based messages; video calls or broadcasting or otherwise recording and sharing videos; and watching videos or movies. The language was part of Senate Bill 398, signed into law last month.
It’s called the “Siddens Bening Hands Free Law,” named for two Missourians who died in separate distracted driving incidents.
Representative Jeff Knight (R-Lebanon) handled that proposal in the House. He knew the history of the texting while driving issue was one of a long time lack of consensus. This was based, in part, on conservative lawmakers’ desire not to infringe on individual liberties. So, Knight had concerns when it was amended to another bill he was carrying and wanted to get passed. After talking to some of the opponents of the issue and others with a stake, he decided to let it stand.
He said as technology has evolved, any need to let people keep holding their phones has diminished.
Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) has an extensive background in law enforcement, including as a former Joplin Police Chief and Director of the Department of Public Safety. He agreed that this year’s proposal included the right provisions at the right time.
Also on the language’s list of bipartisan backers is Representative Steve Butz (D-St. Louis), whose background is in the insurance industry. He said distracted driving has long been a concern for that industry.
Representative Steve Butz (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Knight and Roberts, like others in their caucus, said they still hold personal liberties as important, but said those concerns were tempered by the fact that the bill makes phone use a secondary offense. That means a traffic stop can’t be triggered just by phone use. A person has to be stopped for something else before they can be cited.
Butz agrees that the most important thing this bill does is send a message that legislators, on behalf of Missouri citizens, are telling drivers that they shouldn’t be on their phones and behind the wheel at the same time.
Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Missouri House Communications)
As was the case with the seatbelt law when it passed, Roberts and his colleagues expect it will take some time to see wholesale change in drivers’ habits now that the updated distracted driving law has been passed.
The tougher law regarding phone use was long sought by road safety advocates, who are pleased with the passage. The Missouri Department of Transportation says in the ten years up to 2021 there were nearly 200,000 distracted driving related crashes in Missouri, which caused no fewer than 801 deaths. Some agencies think the real totals are far greater.
Michael Bening of Raymore was 46 and trying to clear debris from a highway when he was hit and killed by a driver believed to have been distracted, on Interstate 49 in Cass County in May, 2021. Randall Siddens was picking up traffic cones after a race in Columbia in May, 2019, when a woman who was driving while voice chatting swerved around a vehicle stopped at a red light and hit him.
The bill including the law bearing their names was passed out of the House 97-40. While the law takes effect on Monday, its penalty provisions won’t be enacted until January 1, 2025, to allow for a grace period while the public is educated on the new law.
More television, movie, and concert productions could be coming to Missouri after the legislature approved tax credits targeting the entertainment industry.
Representative Michael O’Donnell (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The “Show MO Act” created credits for up to 30 percent of qualifying expenses for live entertainment and tour expenses, if certain conditions are met. It created credits equaling 20 percent of qualifying film production expenses, with additional credits available if more conditions are met.
Senate Bill 94 had broad bipartisan support on its way through the House and Senate, and was signed into law by the governor last month.
For an artist to qualify for the credits they must perform at least two concerts in the State of Missouri.
Representative Brad Hudson (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The only other state that offers tax credits to concert productions is Pennsylvania, which recently increased the cap on its credits due to their success. Hudson said due to geography alone, Missouri could fare even better.
The state’s previous film tax credit program expired in 2013. Since then the state has hosted little in the way of television and motion picture filming, while some major projects – even ones set in Missouri – have gone elsewhere. The new law puts Missouri among 39 states that offer film incentives.
Representative Steve Butz (D-St. Louis) has a brother in the film and live theater industry, who this past spring moved to Georgia to film a movie that might otherwise have been filmed in Missouri.
Representative Steve Butz (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The benefits of having things filmed in Missouri aren’t just financial. There’s a boost to the very morale of communities, and that often spans generations.
The film tax credits are capped at $16-million dollars. In addition to the 20 percent credit for qualifying film productions, another 5 percent can be earned if at least 15 percent of production takes place in a rural or blighted area; another 5 percent can be earned if a certain number of Missourians are hired; and another 5 percent is available if the production depicts Missouri or the region in a positive light. The Department of Economic Development will decide which productions are approved.
Many Missourians will be pleased to know that expired temporary license tags on vehicles could soon become a thing of the past, under one of the bills signed into law earlier this month.
Representative Michael O’Donnell (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Those tags have, for some, been a source of anger and fodder for jokes. Entire social media accounts have been dedicated to posting pictures of vehicles with tags that expired months or even years ago, and some openly ridicule law enforcement for not acting against drivers with outdated tags. For others the issue has been a source of anxiety as they felt the scrutiny of peers and law enforcement while driving with them.
The “way” to which O’Donnell refers is the collection of sales taxes on vehicle purchases by the Department of Revenue, after the sale.
“We had this weird situation in Missouri where people would go buy a car and unlike anything else you buy you don’t pay the sales tax when you buy it,” explained Representative Peter Merideth (D-St. Louis). “People get the best car they think they can afford. Next thing they know they go to get their plates for it, they find out they owe $4,000 or $5,000, or even $1,000 or $500 if they got a cheap, used car, it’s a lot of money at once in order to get their plates, and they go, ‘Well I can’t afford that.’”
O’Donnell was the House handler of the proposal that became part of SB 398 that will require auto dealers to collect sales tax at the time of a vehicle purchase.
While having dealers begin collecting taxes at the time of purchase sounds like a simple change, Merideth said it took several years for infrastructural changes that will allow it.
“We’ve been saying for a long time that that’s the solution,” said Merideth, “and then the Department of Revenue would tell us, ‘We don’t have a technical system that can do that.’ What they told us is their computer systems that they were using were designed in the ‘80s when we barely had computers and hadn’t been updated.”
Representative Peter Merideth (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
A series of legislative and budgetary changes – some of which, notes Merideth, did not have the bipartisan support that this portion of SB 398 had – have allowed for this bill to advance and O’Donnell describes it as the last step in a long process. The new law becomes effective August 28but it allows several months for changes to Department of Revenue systems. O’Donnell said it could be 12 to 24 months before those buying vehicles experience the new system.
Many legislators in recent years have said that this issue was among those about which they most often heard complaints from constituents, but they often learned that increasing enforcement against those with expired tags was only going to hurt those who were already financially struggling and would not end the problem.
Merideth told House Communications, “This temp tag issue is the thing I have heard maybe second most from constituents about, second only to gun violence, of anything in my district. It shocked me how upset people are about it, but I get it. It feels like we have a situation where all these people are running around that aren’t paying their fair share of the taxes that the rest of us are paying.”
“I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Well don’t buy the car if you can’t pay the taxes,’” said O’Donnell, but he, like Merideth and others, quickly learned that it wasn’t always that simple. He said a series of reports by a television reporter illustrated the depth of the problem. She talked to a number of Missourians who had expired temporary tags.
The end result was a much-needed change that lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle will be glad to talk about to their constituents.
Said Merideth, “I’m tired of seeing the expired temp tags and I’m tired of, honestly, hearing from so many people about the expired temp tags. It’s a frustrating problem and honestly I’m glad we’re finally going to collecting the revenue that we need to have and we’re going to do it in a way that people are going to know what they’re getting into when they buy their car.”
O’Donnell said four or five years from now there might still be some stragglers out there, but most expired tags should disappear over the next couple of years.
Production note: due to a technical issue, the audio from Rep. Merideth was not of good quality. Those who wish to access it may contact House Communications.