Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Keywords: 959, house, all

Summary: The Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions heard Senate Substitute No. 3 to Senate Bill 888, a broad criminal justice measure sponsored by Sen. Nick Schroer. The bill would change juvenile procedures, including fingerprinting certain offenders under 18, sealing those records for law enforcement and prosecutors, closing juvenile proceedings to the public in some cases, allowing shackling in limited circumstances, and revising the juvenile detention assessment form. It also revises sentencing rules for certain felonies by increasing minimum time-served thresholds, limiting or eliminating conditional release for some offenses, changing how jail-time credit is calculated and challenged, and adding or reclassifying several offenses as dangerous felonies, including some sex offenses, trafficking-related crimes, and endangering the welfare of a child. The sponsor said the bill was intended to improve consistency, public safety, and transparency for victims and offenders, while clarifying that it did not change the elements of endangering the welfare of a child or create a vaccination-based offense. Testimony was mixed. The Missouri Prosecutors Association and Missouri Sheriffs’ United supported the bill, emphasizing clearer sentencing information for victims and stronger consequences for violent and repeat offenders. The Missouri Department of Corrections also supported the sentencing portion, saying the bill’s parole-percentage changes were conviction-based and that the department’s main goal was transparency at sentencing. Opponents, including the Missouri Justice Coalition, the Public Defender System, and several juvenile justice advocates, argued that the juvenile provisions would push more children into adult court, undermine Missouri’s nationally recognized juvenile model, and increase racial disparities and recidivism. They also criticized the mandatory minimums and longer sentences as costly and punitive, warning of higher prison populations and possible new prison construction. Several witnesses raised concerns about the bill’s treatment of vaccination status in the child endangerment section. Committee members questioned the sponsor and witnesses extensively about whether the bill changed commitments versus convictions, the fiscal note, prison capacity, juvenile detention bed space, and whether the measure would apply retroactively. The sponsor and DOC said the sentencing changes were forward-looking and that the bill was meant to provide more certainty at sentencing, though some details were left to experts and later cleanup. The committee recessed during testimony to return after session, then reconvened in executive session. Representative Davis offered an amendment clarifying that vaccination status alone cannot prove endangering the welfare of a child in the first degree, and the committee discussed the amendment before continuing consideration of the bill.

Summary: The Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development met in executive session and first took up House Bill 2585. The committee adopted a House Committee substitute and a separate amendment, both described as clerical and technical changes to align the bill with Department of Higher Education workflow and state and federal law. The substitute for HB 2585 was then approved do pass by a 10-0 roll call vote. The committee then held a public hearing on House Bill 1627, which would revise the Career and Technical Education Advisory Council by adding the Commissioner of Higher Education or designee, increasing business and commerce representation, shortening member terms, reducing required meetings, and adjusting reporting requirements. Representative Haley said the changes would better reflect workforce needs and strengthen ties between education and industry. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education testified in support, saying the changes were recommended by the advisory group. No opposition testimony was offered. Finally, the committee heard House Bill 2123, a broader higher education funding proposal that also includes a Bright Flight scholarship increase to full in-state tuition. Representative Black and Representative Shields described the bill as an effort to modernize Missouri’s long-standing base-plus funding model by moving toward a metric- and performance-based system tied to workforce needs, with a phased testing and approval process before implementation. Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development staff, the Missouri Community College Association, and the Council on Public Higher Education testified in support of continuing the work, though the council urged removing bill language that was too specific about the consultant’s model and timeline. Some members raised concerns about fiscal impact, implementation, and whether the model could be rolled out without harming institutions or students. The hearing on HB 2123 concluded without any vote taken.

Summary: The committee first heard Senate Bill 994, which would extend taxpayer protection from penalties and interest when a taxpayer claims a tax credit that has reached its cap and then receives a Department of Revenue notice for underpayment. Senator Henderson said the bill mirrors existing language for the Champion for Children tax credit, would require payment within 60 days to avoid penalties and interest, and includes technical fixes for the beginning farmer tax credit and school-district reporting. The bill drew support from Missouri Soybean, Feeding Missouri, Missouri Farm Bureau, and Missouri Corn Growers, while the State Public Advocate initially objected to tax credits generally but said he would support the bill once he understood it did not create a new credit. No vote was taken. The committee then heard House Bill 1743, which would bar courts from depriving individuals of property for failure to pay property taxes, with the sponsor arguing that tax sales disproportionately harm low-income and elderly homeowners. Members raised concerns about weakening tax collection and the impact on local taxing districts, while the sponsor said liens and wage garnishment would still be available and that the bill was aimed at protecting homeownership. The Missouri County Collector’s Association opposed the bill, saying tax sales are rare, payment plans are common, and redemption periods already provide protection. The bill was left at hearing with no action. House Bill 2461, presented with nearly identical companion language from another member, would extend and expand Missouri’s donated food tax credit through 2032, raise the cap for food pantries, soup kitchens, and homeless shelters, and create a separate bucket for food banks. Sponsors and Feeding Missouri said the credit is expiring, demand for food assistance is high, and food banks need access to the program to leverage corporate donations; they also discussed a possible amendment to preserve eligibility if the individual income tax is eliminated. The State Public Advocate opposed the bill as another tax credit cost, but the Department of Revenue said the bill would streamline administration and had no fiscal impact. The committee also heard House Bill 3405, which would reclassify the SALT parity pass-through entity provision as a deduction rather than a tax credit for reporting purposes; the sponsor and Department of Revenue said this would improve clarity and reduce administrative burden without changing revenue, and business groups supported it. No votes were taken on any of the bills.

Summary: The Committee on Corrections and Public Institutions resumed consideration of Senate Bill 888, focusing on sentencing changes, juvenile certification provisions, and the Department of Corrections’ fiscal impact. Department officials clarified that courts, not the DOC, impose sentences, and said the bill’s main elements for the department were sentencing transparency and changes affecting people in DOC custody. Members questioned whether the bill amounted to “truth in sentencing,” whether any federal incentives still exist for such laws, and whether the department would need a supplemental appropriation if prison populations rose; the department said it was not aware of any current federal incentive dollars and would likely seek a quick supplemental if costs exceeded budgeted capacity. Officials also explained that most federal funds received by DOC are pass-through grants, mainly for education and substance abuse treatment, and that the fiscal note uses boilerplate language tied to population and capacity changes. The committee then heard opposition testimony from Clifton Davis of the Missouri Justice Coalition, who described being certified as an adult at age 16 and serving 26 years in prison. He argued the bill’s juvenile certification provisions are too broad because they would allow adult prosecution based on Class A or B felony charges alone, before facts are fully developed, and would expose more children to adult records and prison conditions that increase trauma and recidivism. In questioning, Davis said the bill would have changed his life by avoiding an adult record and likely placing him in juvenile treatment instead of adult prison. Other members raised concerns about the bill’s impact on juvenile rehabilitation, prison programming, and whether the legislation is purely punitive. In executive session, Representative Davis offered an amendment to clarify that vaccination status alone cannot prove first-degree child endangerment; he argued the bill’s reclassification of the offense could otherwise create strict-liability concerns and undermine existing religious or medical exemptions. Representative Hovis opposed the amendment as unnecessary, citing existing statute and the lack of a history of such prosecutions. The committee split 8-8 on the amendment, so it failed. The committee then voted on Senate Bill 888 itself and passed it do pass by a 9-7 roll call vote.