A House member believes Missouri children should be taught in school how to deal with and scrutinize the constant stream of information with which they are faced every day.
Representative Jim Murphy (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
St. Louis Republican Jim Murphy believes all media has one thing in common: that it was created by someone, and created for a reason. He thinks children aren’t being equipped with how to figure out, in each case, what that reason is and how to deal with it.
House Bill 1585 would create the “Show-Me Digital Health Act.” It would have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education create a curriculum on the “responsible use of social media,” but Murphy said his aim is to teach how to critically analyze information whether it comes through news, entertainment, advertising, or anything else.
Murphy’s bill would have DESE create a curriculum to cover things including the purpose and acceptable use of social media; identifying online misinformation; and applying protections for freedom of speech for online interactions in schools as provided by DESE.
The bill also specifies that the bill should cover cyberbullying prevention and response. Murphy said bullying goes beyond interactions between bullies and victims, but is fueled by what children see online.
Murphy stresses he doesn’t believe this is a partisan issue. He doesn’t want the curriculum to be tailored to favor information from any given sources, but to teach children to understand and dissect everything with which they are presented.
He said his legislation could be expanded to address teaching children how to be safe from online predators, scams, and other such threats.
HB 1585 would require Missouri schools to adopt such a curriculum for grades three to 12 by the 2024-25 school year and provide professional development to the teachers who would use the curriculum.
His bill has been prefiled to be considered in the session that begins Wednesday.
Women entering Missouri prisons could have a chance to bond with their infant children while incarcerated, under a proposal that House members will be asked to consider in the session starting in a few days, but that concept is not new. Prison nursery programs have existed in other states for years, and in some cases for decades.
Ellisville Republican Bruce DeGroot is sponsoring one of the bills that would create a prison nursery program in Missouri, House Bill 1897. He said as a state representative he doesn’t always have the resources to provide extensive data that can help to make a case for one of his proposals, but with this bill there is ample data on what a difference it’s made in other states.
DeGroot said while he remains passionate about tort reform, which he believes protects and supports employment opportunities, this is a bill that can have an immediate impact on individual Missourians.
Springfield Republican Curtis Trent will also propose prison nursery legislation. He says as the opening of the new session draws near he’s excited about pursuing this legislation.
Illinois began its Moms and Babies program in 2007 at its Decatur Correctional Center. Non-violent offenders are allowed to keep their babies with them until the age of two. The Illinois Department of Public Health provides health education classes as well as lactation support and guidance. Up to eight mothers and babies are able to live in the facility in safety and with staff support and counseling, and prison staff are trained on the needs of pregnant women and mothers. Other incarcerated mothers are also able to help care for the children in the nursery.
As of 2017, more than 90 women had gone through the program. Only two had returned to prison within three years of release and only two were discharged from the program.
Maggie Burke was the warden at Decatur and managed the state’s women’s facilities until 2017. She said the program has been tremendous in her state and she thinks Missouri should absolutely begin its own.
Debbie Denning, who was part of the exploratory team that created Illinois’ program and was Deputy Director for the department’s Women and Family Services Division, agrees with Burke.
Burke said the programs in Illinois also take into account the unique needs of incarcerated women, who often are dealing with and need to recover from trauma.
Denning said in Illinois there were those who were skeptical about creating a nursery program, and she was proud to watch their attitudes change once it was in place.
Among other states that have a prison nursery program is Nebraska, where, as of 2018, there had been a 28-percent reduction in recidivism within 3 years of a participant’s initial offense and a 39-percent reduction in participants returning to prison custody. From 1994 to 2012, Nebraska’s program saved that state more than $6-million.
Both Trent and DeGroot say they have talked to the Missouri Department of Corrections and the office of Governor Mike Parson (R) and received positive responses to this idea.
Missouri House legislation has led to a man securing a chance at parole from prison in the next year, about 69 years earlier than he expected.
Bobby Bostic
Bobby Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison after an armed robbery and carjacking in 1995. Bostic, who was 16 at the time, was tried as an adult and would not have been eligible for parole until 2091, when he would be 112.
A House amendment that became law this year as part of Senate Bill 26 makes eligible to apply for parole anyone sentenced to 15 years or more while a juvenile. The change gave Bostic a chance at a parole hearing after more than 20 years in prison. That hearing was completed recently and Bostic was granted parole. He will be released late next year.
Bostic’s plight became an issue for the legislature in large part through the efforts of O’Fallon Republican Nick Schroer, who was glad to hear about the parole board’s decision.
Schroer took up Bostic’s case in 2019, and then last year with his support, Kansas City representative Mark Sharp (D) sponsored the amendment to Senate Bill 26 that led to Bostic getting a parole hearing.
Soon after hearing about Bostic’s case, Schroer met with him at Jefferson City Correctional Center. He learned that while imprisoned Bostic has earned a GED, an associate’s degree, has completed courses from Adams State University and Missouri State University, and completed more than 30 rehabilitation classes and programs. He has helped other inmates pursue their education, and has become a published author.
Representative Nick Schroer (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
It was after that meeting that Schroer began pressing for Bostic to have a chance at parole.
That began with a letter to Governor Mike Parson (R) asking him to take executive action on Bostic’s case. More than 100 legislators in both parties and both chambers signed that letter.
Bostic was sentenced to 241 years in prison on a series of charges stemming from a 1995 incident in which he, then 16, and an 18 year-old robbed a group of people delivering Christmas presents to the needy. One victim was shot and sustained a minor wound. The pair then carjacked and robbed a woman.
None of the victims of Bostic’s crimes opposed him being given a chance at parole. Some testified that he had little involvement in the crimes and that the 18 year-old was the instigator. While Bostic received more than two centuries in prison, the accomplice pleaded guilty in exchange for a 30-year sentence.
Retired Circuit Judge Evelyn Baker, who handed down Bostic’s sentence, has become one of the most ardent supporters of his parole and represented him at the hearing.
Bostic is not expected to be released until late next year. Sharp said he will spend much of the time until then preparing to return to freedom after 20 years behind bars.
Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Roughly 100 others in Missouri’s prison system could have a chance at parole under the language that helped Bostic. Schroer said for those and others getting out of prison, there are people throughout the state who want to help them start over.
Other portions of Senate Bill 26 have led to a court challenge that could see everything in it struck down. Sharp and Schroer say they aren’t sure what it would mean for Bostic’s case should that happen, but say they will be watching developments and remain committed to helping Bostic get a chance at freedom.
Missourians with felony convictions are no longer blocked from working in places that sell lottery tickets, and face less restriction in working where alcohol is sold, under a law that took effect over the summer. Advocates say the change is a “game changer” for people who get out of prison and want to get their lives back on track.
Henry Mikel and Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch, recently had the chance to meet and talk about her legislation, which allowed him to have his current job.
Mikel is open about his past, which includes a 2nd degree assault charge, and that he is recovering from drug addiction. He is staying at in2Action, a program that helps those released from prison transition back into life and stay out of prison. He recently began working at a convenience store close to the facility. It’s a job he couldn’t have gotten just a few months ago because the store sells lottery tickets.
He thinks the new law is making a big difference for him, and will do so for others in similar circumstances.
He became emotional in expressing gratitude that the law passed. He said with the holidays approaching it will allow him to do something for his two young adult children.
Mikel expressed thanks not only to Representative Toalson Reisch, but to all the legislators who voted for her proposal, and to Governor Mike Parson (R) for signing it into law.
Some would dismiss or even look down on a job such as working at a convenience store, but advocates agree it is a big deal for someone in a position like Mikel’s. He adds that he genuinely enjoys working there, and even as a child he thought it could be a fun job.
Wednesday at the Missouri Capitol there was a sense of new energy in the air. Christmas decorations were going up, the weather was that of a spring day, and most of all, new bills were dropping everywhere. December 1 is a day when Missourians get a first look at what legislators will consider as the filing of bills for the 2022 legislative session began.
Representative Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway files a piece of legislation for the 2022 session. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Farmington Republican Dale Wright said it’s often better for legislation to be filed early, as that can give it a better chance of gaining traction early in the session and a better chance at passage. That means a lot of proposals are brought in on day 1.
Prefiling can feel very different for House Democrats, who face a supermajority of Republicans. Kansas City Democrat Ashley Aune said even when proposing legislation they know will be opposed, members of her caucus can be serving a purpose. She said one piece of advice she has held onto came from fellow Representative Tracy McCreery (D-St. Louis).
Legislators can begin filing legislation for the coming session on December 1 of the preceding year. (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Joplin Representative Lane Roberts (R) said he believes it’s important for each legislator to give consideration to not only their own bills, but what others are filing, and that includes those in the opposing party.
A lawmaker with decades of experience in law enforcement plans to file more legislation meant to help victims of domestic violence in ways he wished he could have during his career.
Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) said in his career, including as Joplin’s Police Chief, he was often frustrated at seeing how abusers used the court system to continue to intimidate and persecute victims.
Jennifer Carter Dochler with the Missouri Coalition against Domestic and Sexual Violence says the issues the bill would address are ones seen time and time again in cases throughout Missouri.
Roberts proposes specifying that when a person receives notice from a court that a hearing will be held on an order of protection against them, that serves as notification of any orders the court issues on the date of that hearing. He said this is because often a person who is the subject of an order of protection will violate it, then say in their defense that they didn’t attend the hearing and therefore didn’t know the order had been put in place. He said this amounts to pleading ignorance, and case law has supported this defense.
Another provision would allow victims to testify in court via video conferencing. Carter Dochler said in addition to victims having to make time to go to court over and over, each time having to incur costs for things like travel and childcare, there are many safety concerns for them when testifying in court. Allowing them to provide testimony over video would be a simple fix.
Roberts called the video conferencing language one of the pieces of the bill he’s the most committed to, because he’s seen that victims can often be reluctant to testify.
The bill would also specify that victims and their witnesses don’t have to reveal home or workplace addresses when testifying in court, unless the court deems it necessary.
A provision the Coalition specifically wanted would clarify that a court can order payment of attorney fees incurred by a victim before, throughout, and after a proceeding. Carter Dochler said because the current statute includes the word, “or,” an attorney successfully argued in one case that the abuser wouldn’t have to cover fees for all of those time periods.
Roberts said based on the response he’s gotten from advocates, he already plans to change some of the language he’s prepared. In particular, he expects to amend a provision that would bar prosecutors from offering plea bargains to defendants facing certain levels of domestic violence charges.
“Maybe we overshot on that,” said Roberts.
Other pieces of this bill would require anyone convicted of domestic violence to pay $1,000 to a shelter in the same city or county as the victim; and require that when they are ordered to take a class on domestic violence, they must pay for it.
In the 2021 session Roberts proposed other domestic violence statute changes that became law in June. These allowed for orders of protection to be extended for up to a lifetime; covered pets under orders of protection; and expanded the definition of “stalking” to include the use of technology such as GPS and social media, or the use of third parties.
Roberts said those pieces of legislation drew something of a “fan following” in Missouri, and for good reason.
An advocate says a new law that began as a Missouri House bill is a “game changer” for people trying to establish new lives after felony convictions.
Representative Cheri Toalson Reisch (photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The legislation eliminated a prohibition on those with felony convictions working in places which sell lottery tickets. It also lifted the requirement that businesses who sell alcohol report to the state when they hire someone with a felony. The changes have been sponsored for several years by Hallsville Republican Cheri Toalson Reisch, and was signed into law this summer and took effect August 28.
Dan Hanneken is the Executive Director of In2Action, a program that helps people transition out of prison. He says the most important factor in a convicted felon not returning to prison is their ability to find employment.
The proposal, filed by Toalson Reisch as House Bill 316, was amended to Senate Bill 26, which was passed and signed by Governor Mike Parson (R).
She said this bill benefit not only her home county of Boone, which she said consistently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, but the entire state.
The legislation had broad support, and was viewed as helping fight recidivism and unemployment while supporting criminal justice reform and helping the economy by boosting the eligible workforce. The House voted 148-1 for the 2020 version of the bill.
Hanneken said the law before this change was very frustrating for the people he works with, who often want to rebuild their lives, provide for their families, and simply have a path forward after prison.
Toalson Reisch said the reporting requirement for businesses that sell liquor was, in practice, a pointless exercise for those employers, who had to fill out a form that wasn’t used for anything.
Legislators will be asked again to increase penalties for the reckless firing of guns into the air when they begin a new session in January.
Blair Shanahan Lane
For several years legislators have proposed what is known as “Blair’s Law” to criminalize in state statute what’s known as “celebratory gunfire.” It’s named for Blair Shanahan Lane, who was struck in the neck by a bullet fired from more than a half-mile away over a lake, on July 4, 2011. She died the next day.
The owner of the gun that fired the shot that killed Blair later served two years in prison on an involuntary manslaughter charge.
Since then more people have been hurt, and in April 24 year-old KCUR radio reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman was fatally struck by what authorities have called a stray bullet, while she was in bed in her apartment, reading a book.
In Kansas City celebratory gunfire is a violation of a city ordinance, but no state law directly addresses it. Legislators and others, including Blair’s mother, hope that making it a misdemeanor or a felony would further discourage the practice.
Sharp thinks most who would fire a gun into the air aren’t doing it out of malicious intent, but he wants them to know it’s not safe and they should stop.
Representative Mark Sharp (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Blair’s mother, Michele Shanahan DeMoss, has advocated for passage of the legislation bearing her daughter’s name, including testifying in multiple legislative hearings over the years. She said when Blair died six of her organs were donated to five people, and her mother runs a charity which was Blair’s idea – Blair’s Foster Socks – which provides socks and other items to children in need.
Sharp said he plans to file Blair’s law legislation when prefiling of bills begins on December 1. The 2022 legislative session begins January 5.
An interim panel on mental health policy will hold at least two more hearings according to its chairman, who says its members are taking in information like “drinking water out of a firehose.”
Representative Wayne Wallingford (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The committee has already heard issues including that there is a staffing shortfall within the Department of Mental Health, and that Missouri ranks 31st in the U.S. for access to mental health services.
Chairman Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau) said after hearing from state organizations in the first hearing and non-profits in the second, the committee will take testimony on November 3 from individuals with experience dealing with mental health issues.
Wallingford anticipates there will be legislation in the 2022 legislative session that will stem from these hearings. He doesn’t have specific bills in mind, but he has his eye on some pilot programs that he feels have been working well in the Columbia area.
Wallingford said the committee also heard that law enforcement officers often find themselves sitting at hospital bedsides by those who have been arrested and suffer from mental health issues, until a space in mental health institutions can be found for them.
Women in Missouri prisons might not have to be separated from their newborns under a bill being considered for the legislative session that begins in January.
Representative Bruce DeGroot (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
The plan would allow some women who are pregnant when they are about to be incarcerated for short sentences to have their babies with them in prison so that they can bond with their newborns. The idea is being referred to as the establishment of “prison nurseries.”
Missouri Appleseed is an organization helping drive the effort. Director Liza Weiss said some other states already have such programs, and some of those have been in place for years.
The Department told House Communications that right now when a woman in a Missouri state prison gives birth, that baby goes into foster care or with a family member.
Representative Curtis Trent (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Currently, pregnant women are housed at the prison in Vandalia. As of early October, 23 had delivered babies. In 2016, that number reached 73, but decreased to 49 in 2019 and 31 last year. The Department notes that in the last 4 years Missouri’s population of incarcerated women has dropped by 42 percent.
Representatives DeGroot and Trent are still developing draft language for their bills, and DeGroot said the Department of Corrections is involved. He expects to propose that the program be available to women whose sentences are for up to 18 months.