Numerous Senate Bills Take Effect Aug. 28

JEFFERSON CITY — According to the Missouri Constitution (Article III, Section 29), “No law passed by the General Assembly, except an appropriation act, shall take effect until 90 days after the adjournment of the session in either odd-numbered or even-numbered years at which it was enacted.”  The constitutional adjournment date for the Missouri Legislature was May 30, making Aug. 28 (90 days following the constitutional adjournment) the date most bills passed by the General Assembly during the 2012 legislative session and signed by the governor become state law.

Some of the more than 15 measures scheduled to take effect today include Senate Bill 469, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield.  The legislation requires all state regulations to be subject to a periodic review every five years to determine if the rules are outdated; duplicative; conflict with other state rules; are unnecessarily burdensome to businesses, individuals or political subdivisions; or if a less restrictively or more narrowly tailored rule could accomplish the same goal.

Sponsored by Sen. Bill Stouffer, R-Napton, Senate Bill 576 changes various provisions relating to charter schools.  The legislation allows charter schools to operate in unaccredited districts, as well as St. Louis City and Kansas City school districts.  These learning institutions can operate in accredited districts without provisions, if sponsored by the local school board.  In addition, the legislation allows proposed or existing high-risk or alternative charter schools to include other arrangements for students to obtain credits for satisfying graduation requirements in the charter application and charter. 

Senate Bill 636, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, changes state law regarding certain judicial provisions.  The bill creates the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, which is responsible for studying and analyzing the state child abuse and neglect reporting and investigation system; lowers the age at which the juvenile court has jurisdiction over a child involved in a state or local traffic violation to 15 years of age; and allows the board of probation and parole to conduct hearings with offenders using video conferencing.

Legislation changing provisions relating to DNA profiling by the Missouri State Highway Patrol crime lab and the DNA Profiling Analysis Fund, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, also takes effect today.  Senate Bill 789 extends the expiration date from Aug. 28, 2013, to Aug. 28, 2019, for various surcharges assessed in certain criminal cases.  In addition, the act requires offenders to provide a DNA sample at the time of registering as a sex offender.   

Various other Senate bills passed by the General Assembly and approved by the governor have emergency clauses, which caused them to take effect immediately upon receiving the governor’s signature.  Other Senate measures contain varying effective dates, in which some provisions have already taken effect, while others waited to become state law on Aug. 28.

To see a complete list of legislation signed by the governor this year, visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Governor’s Action on Truly Agreed Bills” link under the “Legislation” tab.  To contact the Senate Newsroom, call (573) 751-3824 or email: newsroom@senate.mo.gov.