Sometimes a small change can make a big difference. That’s the hope behind a juvenile bill that passed the general assembly in the final days of the session. SB 36 would extend the age to 17 ½ years old that a juvenile could remain under the jurisdiction of the Division of Youth Services (DYS). Sponsored [...]
The Missouri General Assembly last week passed legislation (SB 118) that will allow veterans in Missouri who commit certain low level crimes to participate in a special court tailored to their needs. Sponsored by Senator Will Kraus (R-Lee’s Summit), this bill authorizes circuit courts, or a combination of circuit courts, to establish veteran’s treatment courts [...]
As originally introduced, the MCC opposed HB 343, a public assistance bill that would put certain onerous requirements on recipients to get benefits. As the bill moved through the process some of the MCC’s concerns were addressed and certain requirements were removed, while others remained or were modified. Sponsored by Representative Casey Guernsey (R-Bethany), HB [...]
This week the House passed SB 36, a bill that would extend the age to 17 ½ years old that a juvenile could remain under of the Division of Youth Services (DYS). Sponsored by Senator Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau), this bill added six months eligibility that the court could consider imposing a juvenile sentence. Also [...]
This week Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed into law a bill ending the death penalty in Maryland.Governor O’Malley, a Catholic, actively campaigned for the bill that made Maryland the sixth state in six years to end the death penalty. Overall, 18 states now have abolished capital punishment. Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, California, who chairs [...]
Just one week after the House of Representatives overwhelming defeated an amendment to allow ex-drug offenders to receive food stamps, a House committee heard and passed a bill to allow these benefits to former felony drug offenders.The bill, HB 838 sponsored by Representative Paul Wieland (R-Imperial) was voted 7-2 “do pass” by the Children, Families [...]
Missouri is only one of nine states that still denies food stamp benefits to former drug offenders. All other ex-felons are eligible for food stamps in Missouri. The MCC has urged legislators to treat the ex-drug offenders in the same manner as other ex-offenders, pointing out that allowing these offenders to recieve food stamps can [...]
This week the House of Representatives gave first round approval to a bill that would help Missouri children visit their parents in prison. Sponsored by Representative Penny Hubbard (D-St. Louis), HB 443 would establish a pilot program to provide transportation to children whose parents are incarcerated more than 50 miles from their homes. The pilot [...]
With the end of the session just weeks away, it appears less likely that the Missouri General Assembly will pass any major revision of the state’s criminal code this year. The bills – HB 210 and SB 253 – are massive bills (almost 600 and 1,100 pages respectively) and each bill has required several sessions [...]
In a short debate this week the Senate considered SB 61, a bill that would require the State Auditor to examine the cost of the death penalty compared to alternative sentences. Sponsored by Senator Joe Keaveny (D-St. Louis), the original bill would have required that the state pay the costs of the financial review; [...]