To repeal sections 578.421, 578.427 and 578.433, RSMo 1994, relating to criminal street gangs, and to enact in lieu thereof four new sections relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, AS FOLLOWS:

     Section A. Sections 578.421, 578.427 and 578.433, RSMo 1994, are repealed and four new sections enacted in lieu thereof to be known as sections 578.421, 578.422, 578.427 and 578.433, and to read as follows:

     578.421. As used in sections 578.421 to 578.437, the following terms mean:

     (1) "Criminal street gang", any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in subdivision [(2)] (3) of this section, which has a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity;

     (2) "Hazing", a willful act directed against a member or prospective member of a criminal street gang that recklessly endangers the mental or physical health or safety of such member or prospective member for the purpose of initiation, admission into or continued membership in any criminal street gang to the extent that such person is knowingly placed at probable risk of the loss of life or probable bodily or psychological harm. Acts of hazing shall include:

     (a) Any activity which recklessly endangers the physical health or safety of a member or prospective member of a criminal street gang, including but not limited to physical brutality, whipping, beating, branding, exposure to the elements, forced consumption of any food, liquor, drug or other substance or forced smoking or chewing of tobacco products; or

     (b) Any activity which recklessly endangers the mental health of a member or prospective member of a criminal street gang, including but not limited to sleep deprivation, physical confinement, or other extreme stress- inducing activity; or

     (c) Any activity that requires a member or prospective member of a criminal street gang to perform a duty or task which involves a violation of the criminal laws of this state or any political subdivision in this state.

     [(2)] (3) "Pattern of criminal street gang activity", the commission, attempted commission, or solicitation of two or more of the following offenses, provided at least one of those offenses occurred after August 28, 1993, and the last of those offenses occurred within three years after a prior offense, and the offenses are committed on separate occasions, or by two or more persons:

     (a) Assault with a deadly weapon or by means of force likely to cause serious physical injury, as provided in sections 565.050 and 565.060, RSMo;

     (b) Robbery, arson and those offenses under chapter 569, RSMo, which are related to robbery and arson;

     (c) Murder or manslaughter, as provided in sections 565.020 to 565.024, RSMo;

     (d) Any violation of the provisions of chapter 195, RSMo, which involves the distribution, delivery or manufacture of a substance prohibited by chapter 195, RSMo;

     (e) Unlawful use of a weapon which is a felony pursuant to section 571.030, RSMo;

     (f) Tampering with witnesses and victims, as provided in section 575.270, RSMo[.];

     (g) Endangering the welfare of a child in the first or second degree, as provided in sections 568.045 and 568.050, RSMo;

     (h) Hazing, as provided in section 578.422.

     578.422. 1. A person commits the crime of hazing if he knowingly participates in or causes hazing, as it is defined in section 578.421.

     2. Hazing is a class A misdemeanor, unless the act creates a substantial risk to the life of the member or prospective member of a criminal street gang, in which case it is a class C felony.

     3. Consent is not a defense to hazing. Section 565.080, RSMo, does not apply to hazing cases or to homicide cases arising out of hazing activity.     

     578.427. [1. Sections 578.421 to 578.437 shall not apply to employees engaged in concerted activities for their mutual aid and protection, or the activities of labor organizations or their members or agents.

2.] Nothing in sections 578.421 to 578.437 shall prevent a local governing body from adopting and enforcing laws consistent with sections 578.421 to 578.437 relating to gangs and gang violence. Where those local laws duplicate or supplement the provisions of sections 578.421 to 578.437, sections 578.421 to 578.437 shall be construed as providing alternative remedies and not as preempting the field.

     578.433. 1. It is unlawful for a person to keep or maintain [such] a public nuisance pursuant to section 578.430. In addition to any other criminal prosecutions, the prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney may by information or indictment charge the owner or the occupant, or both the owner and the occupant, of the room, building, structure, or inhabitable structure with the crime of keeping or maintaining a public nuisance.

     2. Keeping or maintaining a public nuisance is a class C felony.