Public safety was a major focus this legislative session and a priority outlined in the Governor’s State of the State address. Public safety focused legislation made up 21% of Truly Agreed and Finally Passed (TAFP) bills.
SB 888, signed by Governor Kehoe on April 7, restructures MO’s minimum time-served requirements by felony class rather than prior prison commitments, expands record sharing between law enforcement and prosecutors to track cases and juvenile adjudication history, and increases penalties for certain sexual offenses. These changes will be effective January 1, 2028. Drs. Anderson, Bratburd and Owen previously wrote about sentencing and reincarceration in the Science Notes on Recidivism and Juvenile Detention.
Related House bills also received hearings in the Senate, including HB 2302 and HB 2747. HB 2302 would have required the Department of Corrections to provide a state-issued identification card to aid in post-release employment. HB 2747 would have established an automatic expungement process for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies and limit how long arrests and convictions can appear on credit reports.
HB 2592, a bipartisan bill that would restore voting rights to individuals on probation or parole, was voted to the floor of the Senate but did not come up for a vote. Dr. Villegas Lopez provided an update on the number of MO residents on probation or parole who would be re-enfranchised if this bill passed in Voting While on Probation or Parole.
Child safety was top of mind for legislators. SB 905 will create the Missouri Rangers, a new category of school safety personnel trained in defensive tactics, active shooter response, and de-escalation. “Evie and Sophie’s Law,” enshrined in the TAFP HB 2273 and signed into law on April 7, creates the offense of grooming or enticement of a minor, and SB 982 clarifies sex offender registry requirements. It specifies when out-of-state offenders must register in Missouri and prohibits registered offenders from changing their name during the registration period. Drs. Bean and Villegas Lopez covered related topics in the Science Note on Anti-Grooming Laws and Dr. Bean wrote about the impacts of human trafficking in Clearing Criminal Records for Trafficking Survivors.
Similarly, a vulnerable persons protection bill (SB 999) is TAFP awaits the governor’s signature. It contains the born alive abortion survivor bill, which creates a criminal act for not providing medical care to a child born after an attempted abortion. It also includes rules around collecting data on maternal health and racial inequalities, covered in Dr. Jill Barnas’ Science Note on Missouri’s Maternal Mortality and Health Disparities. Finally, it redefines stalking, cyber harassment, and digitally created intimate images. Dr. Barnas and Dr. Tomy Granzier-Nakajima outlined the definitions and impacts of Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Media on both individuals depicted in and receiving the images.
HB 2505 prioritized grandparents in child custody determinations, and was placed on the Senate calendar but did not come up for a vote. Dr. Wielga covered how most children being raised in kinship families are raised by grandparents in Guardian Rights of Aunt and Uncles.
Highway safety drew significant attention late in the session. TAFP bills include SB 1408, which will raise Missouri’s maximum rural interstate speed limit from 70 to 75 mph, and HB 1740, which modifies Missouri’s driving while intoxicated (DWI) laws in several ways. Notably, it:
Additionally, several bills related to motor vehicle safety inspections were combined and advanced from the House to the Senate this session: HB 1838, HB 1692, HB 1695, HB 1983, HB 2036, HB 2662, and HB 2743. The combined bill would eliminate Missouri’s motor vehicle safety inspection requirement for noncommercial vehicles, with exceptions for salvage vehicles and those flagged as unsafe by law enforcement. Dr. Granzier-Nakajima covers data on national safety inspection programs in the Science Note Motor Vehicle Safety Inspections and Title Transfer Requirements.