Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Contact: Jessica Robinson, (573) 751-0290
Governor Signs Bills Tightening Drunk Driving Laws; Strengthening Crime Provisions
JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt today signed several crime bills that will help protect Missourians and ensure convicted criminals receive just and appropriate sentences.
House Bill 353, sponsored by Rep. Scott Lipke, enacts important provisions to enhance Missouri’s crime laws. It establishes the crime of financially exploiting the elderly when damages total more than $50,000 as a class A felony. It requires second time sex offenders whose victims are younger than 14 years old to remain on parole for life and requires these offenders to wear an electronic tracking device as a condition of parole. It expands the crime of endangering a child in the first degree to include manufacturing methamphetamine in homes with children. It also lowers financial thresholds that define identity theft as a crime.
House Bill 972, sponsored by House Speaker Rod Jetton, creates two new classes for repeat DWI offenders, aggravated and chronic, that both carry increased penalties. Similar provisions are also enacted in SB 37. HB 972 also defines new provisions governing adult cabarets and sexually oriented businesses.
Senate Bill 37, sponsored by Sen. Gary Nodler, has been referred to as "Jessica’s Law" in memory of 7-year-old Jessica Mann and her grandfather, James Dodson, who were killed by a drunk driver. "Jessica’s Law" increases the penalties for involuntary manslaughter in the first degree and requires defendants to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence.
Senate Bill 423, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle, improves Missouri’s DNA profiling laws. The bill clarifies traffic offenders will not be assessed a DNA testing fee. It also requires the sheriff’s department assigned offenders to perform DNA sample collections when an offender is being held by a contractor.
The bill also ensures offenders being transferred or released cannot avoid DNA testing.
Senate Bill 216, sponsored by Sen. Norma Champion, mandates that unless specifically ordered by the court, all depositions involving criminalists will be taken in the county where the crime lab is located. The bill will both improve our judicial process and save taxpayer money.
Senate Bill 402, sponsored by Senate President Pro-Tem Mike Gibbons, changes penalties to address both the possession and consumption of alcohol by minors. Under the act, a minor could now be found guilty of a "minor in possession" if he or she is visibly intoxicated or has a blood alcohol content of more than .02. The bill also prohibits adults from allowing minors to drink on their private property unless they are the minor’s legal guardians and requires school districts to create a policy detailing the consequences if a student is found to either possess or drink alcohol on school property or at school events.
Senate Bill 254, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Engler, will help protect Missouri’s students by making possession or distribution of a prescription drug on school property a crime. This bill provides reasonable penalties that will help protect our children and help law enforcement officials manage an emerging problem in schools that might otherwise go unpunished.
Senate Bill 420, sponsored by Sen. Rob Mayer and handled in the House by Rep. Richard Byrd, contains several important crime provisions. The bill expands the number of offenses that apply to the child placement prohibition and creates new guidelines when one child is abusing another child to protect the child who is being abused. The bill changes newborn abandonment laws, removing the minimum age requirement and raising the maximum age restriction to one year. The bill also allows cities and counties to adopt fees on marriage licenses and civil cases that would help support domestic violence shelters. The legislation allows elected and appointed officials to request their personal information be removed from internet sites. Blunt announced today that his call for special session will include a directive to remove state and local agencies from the requirements of this section of the bill.
Conflicting language in House Bills 353, Senate Bill 402, Senate Bill 37 and House Bill 972 will be addressed during special session. These conflicts in no way make Missouri’s current laws on drunk driving ineffective. Aligning language in these bills during special session will offer law enforcement and prosecutors new tools to arrest and convict offenders.
In addition to signing crime bills Blunt also signed House Bill 119, sponsored by Rep. Kenny Jones. The bill allows state retirees and state employed military service men and women to retain their life insurance policy for the full duration of their deployment, rather than just the 12 months that is currently allowed.
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