HCS/SS/SCS/SB 71 - This act creates and modifies provisions relating to public safety. CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECKS (Sections 43.546, 168.014, 190.106, 208.222, 209.324, 210.482, 210.487, 301.551, 324.055, 324.129, 324.488, 324.1105, 326.257, 330.025, 331.025, 332.015, 334.015, 334.403, 334.501, 334.701, 334.739, 334.805, 335.022, 335.042, 336.025, 337.018, 337.308, 337.501, 337.605, 337.702, 338.052, 339.015, 339.510, 345.016, 374.711, 436.225, 443.702, 476.802, 484.125, 590.060, and 640.011) This act provides that certain agencies, boards, or commissions may require fingerprint submissions for application for certain licenses. Fingerprints are required for licensure, the agency, board, or commission shall require applicants to submit fingerprints to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for the purpose of conducting a state and federal fingerprint-based criminal history background check. The fingerprints and any required fees shall be sent to the Highway Patrol and shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct a federal background check. The Highway Patrol shall notify the agency, board, or commission of any criminal history record discovered on the applicant for licensure. These provisions are identical to SB 636 (2025) and provisions in HCS/HB 268 (2025) and HB 992 (2025), and are similar to SCS/SB 875 (2024), SCS/HCS/HB 1659 (2024), and HCS/HB 1800 (2024). MISSOURI LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (Section 70.630) This act repeals the provision prohibiting membership in Missouri Local Government Employees' Retirement System ("LAGERS") for employees where continuous employment to the time of retirement eligibility will leave the employee with less than the minimum required number of years of credited service. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), HCS/HB 976 (2025), HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024), and SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024). LAGERS: COST OF LIVING CPI (SECTION 70.655) This act provides that the cost of living adjustment for LAGERS shall be a measure of the Consumer Price Index as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor and adopted by the Board of LAGERS, instead of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), HCS/HB 976 (2025), SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024), and in HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024). LAGERS: REPEAL OF OBSOLETE STATUTORY PROVISION (SECTION 70.680) This act repeals references to obsolete statutory provisions. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), HCS/HB 976 (2025), SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024), and HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024). LAGERS: MEMBERSHIP (SECTION 70.690) Additionally, this act provides that in the event a member's membership terminates, any accumulated contributions unclaimed by the member within 10 years, instead of 3 years, shall be transferred to the investment income fund of the system. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), HCS/HB 976 (2025), HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024), and SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024). LAGERS: INVESTMENT DECISIONS (SECTIONS 70.745 TO 70.747) This act provides that the Board of LAGERS may deliberate or make decisions on investments or other financial matters in a closed meeting if the disclosure of such deliberations or decisions would jeopardize the ability to implement a decision or to achieve investment objectives. Furthermore, this act repeals the provision that the investment counselor of the Board shall be registered as an investment advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Lastly, this act repeals the limitation that no more than one-tenth of the funds of the system be invested in real estate. These provisions are identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), and HCS/HB 976 (2025), and are similar to provisions in SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024) and HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024). LAGERS: INVESTMENT FUNDS (SECTION 70.748) This act provides that the Board may establish and maintain a local government employee retirement systems of Missouri investment fund account in which investments of LAGERS may be placed and be available for investment purposes. The funds may be combined with funds of any retirement plan administered by LAGERS and any retirement plan established for providing benefits to employees of LAGERS, but such funds shall be accounted for separately. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), SCS/HB 352 (2025), SCS/SB 514 (2025), HCS/HB 532 (2025), HB 559 (2025), and HCS/HB 976 (2025), and are similar to provisions in SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024) and HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024). POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF ST. LOUIS CITY (Section 86.200) This act modifies the definition of "earnable compensation", as used by the Police Retirement System of St. Louis, by providing that the term shall not include any funds received through a judgment or settlement of a legal action or claim made or threatened by a member against the City of St. Louis if such funds are intended to retroactively compensate the member for the salary differential between the member's actual rank and the rank the member claims he or she should have received. This provision is identical to SB 357 (2025) and provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025), HB 559 (2025), and SB 1267 (2024), and is substantially similar to provisions in HCS/HB 532 (2025), HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024), HB 2288 (2024), and SCS/HCS/HB 2431 (2024). FIREMEN'S RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF ST. LOUIS (Sections 87.140, 87.145, and 87.260) This act provides that the Board of Trustees of the Firemen's Retirement System of St. Louis ("Board") shall not be prevented from simultaneously acting as the trustees of any other pension plan that provides retirement, disability, and death benefits for firefighters employed by St. Louis City. The administration of the other plan shall be in accordance with the terms of such plan. Additionally, the administration of the other plan includes the ability of the Board to establish rules and regulations for the administration of the plan's funds and for the transaction of the plan's business. The Board shall maintain separate records of all proceedings of the pension plan. Furthermore, this act provides that the Board of Trustees shall have the authority and discretion to invest funds of the other pension plan in property of any kind. The Board may choose to invest the funds of the Firemen's Retirement System of St. Louis and the funds of the plan in the same investments if the amounts invested and the gains, profits, or losses are accounted for separately. No benefits due from the pension plan shall be paid from the funds of the System. Additionally, no expenses incurred by the Board in the administration of the other pension plan or in the investment of the other pension plan's funds shall be paid by the funds of the System. Finally, nothing in this act shall prevent the Board of Aldermen of St. Louis City from adopting ordinances relating to the pensioning of firefighters and their dependents in regards to other pension plans administered by the Board. These provisions are identical to SB 255 (2025) and provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025), SS/SCS/SB 271 (2025), SCS/SB 1404 (2024), and HCS/SS/SB 898 (2024), are substantially similar to HB 205 (2025) and provisions in HCS/HB 532 (2025), and are similar to HB 1980 (2024), SB 349 (2021), HB 1001 (2021), and provisions in SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025). ALL PUBLIC PENSION PLANS: INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY (SECTION 105.688) This act prohibits fiduciaries for public employee retirement systems from being prohibited from closing records related to information in connection with investments in or financial transactions with business entities. This provision is identical to provisions in SCS/SB 514 (2025) and HCS/HB 976 (2025) and is similar to provisions in SCS/HCS/HBs 44 & 426 (2025) and SS#2/SCS/HB 147 (2025). PUBLIC SAFETY RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION (Sections 173.2655 and 173.2660) This act establishes the "Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act" to provide college tuition awards for certain public safety personnel and their legal dependents. The act defines "public safety personnel" as including any police officer, firefighter, paramedic, telecommunicator first responder, emergency medical technician, or advanced emergency medical technician who is trained and authorized by law or rule to render emergency medical assistance or treatment. "Institution of higher education" is defined as including public community colleges and state colleges and universities located in Missouri; an approved private institution, as such term is defined in current law, that chooses to accept tuition award money as provided in the act; and accredited providers of emergency medical services training. Subject to appropriation, public safety personnel with at least six years of service shall be entitled to an award worth up to 100% of the resident tuition charges, including fees, of an institution of higher education located in Missouri if they satisfy the conditions set forth in the act. The maximum award to attend an approved private institution shall be equal to the total cost of tuition and mandatory fees charged to a Missouri resident at the public institution of higher education that has the highest combined tuition and mandatory fee cost in the state, as determined by the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD). A private institution that chooses to accept any award money as a tuition payment shall not charge the recipient of the award any tuition that exceeds the maximum combined tuition and mandatory fee cost as determined by DHEWD. To apply for a tuition award, public safety personnel shall present to DHEWD verification of their current, valid license in a profession specified in the act, along with a certificate of verification signed by their employer verifying that they are employed full-time as public safety personnel. Such individuals shall also meet all admission requirements of the institution of higher education and pursue a license or associate or baccalaureate degree in an academic subject specified in the act. Individuals who have already earned a baccalaureate degree are ineligible to use the tuition award to earn another degree. Each year an individual applies for and receives a tuition award, he or she shall file with DHEWD documentation showing proof of employment and proof of residence in Missouri. Additionally, an applicant for a tuition award shall first apply for all other forms of federal and state student financial aid, including filing a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, if applicable, applying for financial assistance under the G.I. Bill. (Section 173.2655) The legal dependent of public safety personnel with at least ten years of service is also eligible for a tuition award if he or she executes an agreement with the institution of higher education outlining the terms and conditions of the tuition award, including the legal dependent's commitment to reside in Missouri for the next five years, as well as a commitment to provide a copy of his or her state income tax return annually to DHEWD in order to prove residency in Missouri. The agreement shall also include a provision that if the tuition award recipient fails to provide proof of residency in Missouri for the five-year period following the use of the tuition award, the tuition award shall be treated as a loan to such recipient, with the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority as the loan servicer, as provided in the act. Finally, the agreement shall provide that any residency, filing, or payment obligation incurred by the tuition award recipient under the act is canceled in the event of the tuition award recipient's total and permanent disability or death. The five-year residency requirement for a legal dependent who receives a tuition award begins once the legal dependent applies for and receives the tuition award and continues until the tuition award recipient (a) completes the five-year tuition award eligibility period, (b) completes a baccalaureate degree, (c) completes an associate degree and notifies DHEWD that he or she does not intend to pursue a baccalauareate degree or additional associate degree using tuition awards, or (d) notifies DHEWD that he or she does not plan to use additional tuition awards. The legal dependent shall satisfy certain other criteria to be eligible for a tuition award. The legal dependent shall not have previously earned a baccalaureate degree, and he or she shall meet all admission requirements of the institution of higher education he or she wishes to attend. The legal dependent shall also file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid and, if applicable, apply for financial assistance under the G.I. Bill, as well as providing verification of the public safety personnel's eligibility for the tuition award to DHEWD, as provided in the act. (Sections 173.2655 and 173.2660) Public safety personnel and their legal dependents may receive a tuition award for up to five consecutive years if they otherwise continue to be eligible. The five years of eligibility starts once the individual applies for and receives the tuition award for the first time. DHEWD shall grant an award worth up to 100% of the individual's tuition remaining due after subtracting awarded federal financial aid grants and state scholarships and grants. An application for a tuition award shall include a verification of the public safety personnel's satisfaction of the requirements of the act, including proof of full-time employment and residency status. Public safety personnel shall include such verification when they or their legal dependents are applying to DHEWD for a tuition award. The death of public safety personnel in the line of duty shall not disqualify an individual's otherwise eligible legal dependent from receiving the tuition award. In such a case, in lieu of submitting verification of the public safety personnel's employment, the legal dependent shall submit a statement attesting that, at the time of death, the public safety personnel satisfied the requirements of the act, and such individual died in the line of duty, as described in the act. DHEWD shall provide a tuition award to an eligible applicant for the award who applies for an "open seat", defined in the act as a vacant position in a class, course, or program that is available for enrollment. DHEWD shall not provide a tuition award if doing so would require an institution of higher education to create additional seats exceeding program capacity. Applications for tuition awards shall be submitted to DHEWD no later than December 15th annually. No later than March 1st annually, DHEWD shall send written notice of the applicant's eligibility or ineligibility for the tuition award and state whether the application has been approved or denied. If the applicant is determined not to be eligible for the tuition award, the notice shall include the reason or reasons for such determination. If the application is denied, the notice shall include the reason or reasons for the denial. The Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Fund is created for purposes of granting tuition awards as provided in the act. In the event that funds are insufficient to provide tuition awards for all eligible applicants, public safety personnel shall be in the first class of applicants to receive the awards, and dependents shall be in the second class, in a priority order specified in the act. The tuition awards provided for in this act are subject to appropriation. If there are no moneys in the Fund, no tuition awards shall be granted. (Section 173.2655) These provisions are identical to provisions in SS/SCS/HB 225 (2025) and SS#2/HB 419 (2025) and are similar to HB 496 (2025), HB 1525 (2025), and provisions in SCS/HCS/HB 87 (2025) and HCS/HBs 1514, 1525 & 1527 (2025). PATIENT MEDICAL RECORDS (Section 191.227) Under this act, records containing a patient's health history and treatment created by an emergency care provider or telecommunicator first responder, in the course of their official duties while responding to a formal request for assistance, shall be made available to the patient or patient's representative, upon written request. This provision is identical to HB 457 (2025) and provisions in HCS/SS/SB 7 (2025) and HCS/HB 943 (2025). LINE OF DUTY COMPENSATION ACT (Sections 287.243 and B) The act reauthorizes the Line of Duty Compensation Act, which provides for compensation for a public safety officer killed in the line of duty. This program shall automatically sunset on December 31, 2031. This provision contains an emergency clause. This provision is identical to a provision in CCS/HCS/SS/SCS/SBs 81 & 174 (2025) and is substantially similar to HB 365 (2025) and HB 1584 (2025) and to provisions in HCS/SS#2/SCS/SB 10 (2025), SB 143 (2025), HCS/SB 189 (2025), SCS/SB 669 (2025), HCS/HB 72 (2025), SCS/HCS/HB 87 (2025), SS/SCS/HB 225 (2025), HCS/HB 497 (2025), and SCS/HCS/HBs 971, 293 & 978 (2025). MISSOURI EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION (Section 292.606) This act extends the authority for the collection of certain fees by the Missouri Emergency Response Commission for six years, beginning August 28, 2025. The act also authorizes a one-time fee to be assessed, which shall be calculated based on filings due March 1, 2025, and shall be paid by November 1, 2025. This provision is identical to HCS/HB 70 (2025) and to provisions in HCS/SS/SB 7 (2025), CCS/HCS/SS/SCS/SBs 81 & 174 (2025), HCS/SB 189 (2025), HB 200 (2025), HB 627 (2025), SS/SCS/HCS/HB 1659 (2024), SCS/SB 1356 (2024), and HB 1870 (2024), and is substantially similar to SB 564 (2025) and to provisions in HCS/SS#2/SCS/SB 10 (2025) and SB 143 (2025). OFFENSE OF BURGLARY IN THE SECOND DEGREE (Sections 569.170 & 569.175) Current law provides that the offense of burglary in the second degree occurs when a person knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a building or inhabitable structure for the purpose of committing a crime. This act provides that a person also commits the offense for knowingly entering unlawfully into a motor vehicle with the intent to commit a felony or the offense of stealing. Such offense is a class D felony unless the offender was in possession of a firearm or stole a firearm from the vehicle, in which case it is a class C felony. The act further provides that offense of burglary in the second degree occurs when a person enters a restricted area of a commercial business for the purpose of committing a crime and the restricted area is commonly reserved for personnel where money or other property is kept or clearly marked with a sign or signs indicating that public entry is forbidden. Such offense is a class B misdemeanor unless committed as a second or subsequent violation, in which case it is a class A misdemeanor. The act also creates the offense of unlawfully gaining entry into a motor vehicle, which a person commits if he or she lifts the door handles or otherwise tries the doors and locks of successive vehicles in an attempt to gain entry for the purpose of committing the offense of stealing. Such a violation is a class A misdemeanor unless the person is the owner of the vehicle or has the owner's permission to enter the vehicle, in which case it is not an offense. These provisions are similar to provisions in SCS/HCS#2/HB 495 (2025), HCS/HB 117 (2025), HB 1510 (2024), SB 97 (2023), HCS/SB 186 (2023), HCS/HBs 187 & 570 (2023), HS/HCS/HBs 1108 & 1181 (2023), HB 1582 (2022), and HB 1637 (2022). MISSOURI TASK FORCE ON NONPROFIT SAFETY AND SECURITY (Sections 650.900 and 650.910) This act creates the "Missouri Task Force on Nonprofit Safety and Security" within the Department of Public Safety, Office of Homeland Security. The Task Force shall study and make recommendations on the security needs of nonprofit organizations that are at elevated risk of terrorist attacks in Missouri. Members of the Task Force shall be appointed by the Director of the Department of Public Safety, as described in the act. The Task Force shall annually issue a report to the Office of Homeland Security of its findings and recommendations with respect to terrorist attacks in Missouri. The act creates the "Supplemental Nonprofit Safety and Security Fund". The Fund shall be used to defray the costs of security enhancements or measures, as described in the act, for eligible nonprofit organizations. A nonprofit organization that has been approved for funding by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Nonprofit Security Grant Program shall be eligible for grants from the Fund. An eligible organization may receive a grant of up to five percent of the available grant pool for distribution. These provisions are identical to HB 134 (2025) and are substantially similar to SB 1275 (2024). OLIVIA SHANNON