FIRST REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 835
91ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES BRITT, HOSMER, CROWELL,
RICHARDSON AND MERIDETH (Co-sponsors).
Read 1st time February 20, 2001, and 1000 copies ordered printed.
TED WEDEL, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 50.550 and 558.019, RSMo 2000, relating to crime reduction, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to the same subject, with penalty provisions.
Section A. Sections 50.550 and 558.019, RSMo 2000, are repealed and three new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 50.550, 50.555 and 558.019, to read as follows:
50.550. 1. The annual budget shall present a complete financial plan for the ensuing budget year. It shall set forth all proposed expenditures for the administration, operation and maintenance of all offices, departments, commissions, courts and institutions; the actual or estimated operating deficits or surpluses from prior years; all interest and debt redemption charges during the year and expenditures for capital projects.
2. The budget shall contain adequate provisions for the expenditures necessary for the care of insane pauper patients in state hospitals, for the cost of holding elections and for the costs of holding circuit court in the county that are chargeable against the county, for the repair and upkeep of bridges other than on state highways and not in any special road district, and for the salaries, office expenses and deputy and clerical hire of all county officers and agencies.
3. In addition, the budget shall set forth in detail the anticipated income and other means of financing the proposed expenditures.
4. All receipts of the county for operation and maintenance shall be credited to the general fund, and all expenditures for these purposes shall be charged to this fund; except, that receipts from the special tax levy for roads and bridges shall be kept in a special fund and expenditures for roads and bridges may be charged to the special fund.
5. All receipts from the sale of bonds for any purpose shall be credited to the bond fund created for the purpose, and all expenditures for this purpose shall be charged to the fund. All receipts for the retirement of any bond issue shall be credited to a retirement fund for the issue, and all payments to retire the issue shall be charged to the fund. All receipts for interest on outstanding bonds and all premiums and accrued interest on bonds sold shall be credited to the interest fund, and all payments of interest on the bonds shall be charged to the interest fund.
6. Subject to the provisions of section 50.555, the county commission may create a fund to be known as the "(name of county) County Crime Reduction Fund".
7. The county commission may create other funds as are necessary from time to time.
50.555. 1. A county commission may establish by resolution a fund, the proceeds of which may be expended only for the purposes provided in subsection 3 of this section. The fund shall be designated as a county crime reduction fund and shall be under the supervision of a board of trustees consisting of one resident of the county appointed by the presiding commission of the county, one resident of the county appointed by the sheriff of the county, and one resident of the county appointed by the county prosecuting attorney.
2. Money from the county crime reduction fund shall be expended only upon the approval of a majority of the county crime reduction fund's board of trustees and only for the purposes provided for by subsection 3 of this section.
3. Money from the county crime reduction fund shall be expended only for the following purposes:
(1) Narcotics investigation, prevention and intervention;
(2) Purchase of law enforcement-related equipment and supplies for the sheriff's office;
(3) Use as matching funds for federal or state law enforcement grants;
(4) Funding for the reporting of all state and federal crime statistics or information; and
(5) Any law enforcement-related expenses reasonably related to investigation, preparation, trial and disposition of criminal cases before the courts of this state, including expenses of the prosecuting attorney approved by the board of trustees of the county crime fund.
4. The county commission shall not reduce any law enforcement agency's budget as a result of such law enforcement agency receiving funds from the county crime reduction fund. The crime reduction fund shall be a supplement to the law enforcement agency's funding from county, state and federal sources.
5. County crime reduction funds shall be audited in the same manner as all other county funds.
558.019. 1. This section shall not be construed to affect the powers of the governor under article IV, section 7, of the Missouri Constitution. This statute shall not affect those provisions of section 565.020, RSMo, section 558.018 or section 571.015, RSMo, which set minimum terms of sentences, or the provisions of section 559.115, RSMo, relating to probation.
2. The provisions of this section shall be applicable to all classes of felonies except those set forth in chapter 195, RSMo, and those otherwise excluded in subsection 1 of this section. For the purposes of this section, "prison commitment" means and is the receipt by the department of corrections of a defendant after sentencing. For purposes of this section, prior prison commitments to the department of corrections shall not include commitment to a regimented discipline program established pursuant to section 217.378, RSMo. Other provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, any defendant who has pleaded guilty to or has been found guilty of a felony other than a dangerous felony as defined in section 556.061, RSMo, and is committed to the department of corrections shall be required to serve the following minimum prison terms:
(1) If the defendant has one previous prison commitment to the department of corrections for a felony offense, the minimum prison term which the defendant must serve shall be forty percent of his sentence or until the defendant attains seventy years of age, and has served at least forty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever occurs first;
(2) If the defendant has two previous prison commitments to the department of corrections for felonies unrelated to the present offense, the minimum prison term which the defendant must serve shall be fifty percent of his sentence or until the defendant attains seventy years of age, and has served at least forty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever occurs first;
(3) If the defendant has three or more previous prison commitments to the department of corrections for felonies unrelated to the present offense, the minimum prison term which the defendant must serve shall be eighty percent of his sentence or until the defendant attains seventy years of age, and has served at least forty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever occurs first.
3. Other provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, any defendant who has pleaded guilty to or has been found guilty of a dangerous felony as defined in section 556.061, RSMo, and is committed to the department of corrections shall be required to serve a minimum prison term of eighty-five percent of the sentence imposed by the court or until the defendant attains seventy years of age, and has served at least forty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever occurs first.
4. For the purpose of determining the minimum prison term to be served, the following calculations shall apply:
(1) A sentence of life shall be calculated to be thirty years;
(2) Any sentence either alone or in the aggregate with other consecutive sentences for crimes committed at or near the same time which is over seventy-five years shall be calculated to be seventy-five years.
5. For purposes of this section, the term "minimum prison term" shall mean time required to be served by the defendant before he is eligible for parole, conditional release or other early release by the department of corrections. Except that the board of probation and parole, in the case of consecutive sentences imposed at the same time pursuant to a course of conduct constituting a common scheme or plan, shall be authorized to convert consecutive sentences to concurrent sentences, when the board finds, after hearing with notice to the prosecuting or circuit attorney, that the sum of the terms results in an unreasonably excessive total term, taking into consideration all factors related to the crime or crimes committed and the sentences received by others similarly situated.
6. (1) A sentencing advisory commission is hereby created to consist of eleven members. One member shall be appointed by the speaker of the house. One member shall be appointed by the president pro tem of the senate. One member shall be the director of the department of corrections. Six members shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor from among the following: the public defender commission; private citizens; a private member of the Missouri Bar; the board of probation and parole; and a prosecutor. Two members shall be appointed by the supreme court, one from a metropolitan area and one from a rural area. All members of the sentencing commission appointed prior to August 28, 1994, shall continue to serve on the sentencing advisory commission at the pleasure of the governor.
(2) The commission shall study sentencing practices in the circuit courts throughout the state for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent disparities exist among the various circuit courts with respect to the length of sentences imposed and the use of probation for defendants convicted of the same or similar crimes and with similar criminal histories. The commission shall also study and examine whether and to what extent sentencing disparity among economic and social classes exists in relation to the sentence of death and if so, the reasons therefor. It shall compile statistics, examine cases, draw conclusions, and perform other duties relevant to the research and investigation of disparities in death penalty sentencing among economic and social classes.
(3) The commission shall establish a system of recommended sentences, within the statutory minimum and maximum sentences provided by law for each felony committed under the laws of this state. This system of recommended sentences shall be distributed to all sentencing courts within the state of Missouri. The recommended sentence for each crime shall take into account, but not be limited to, the following factors:
(a) The nature and severity of each offense;
(b) The record of prior offenses by the offender;
(c) The data gathered by the commission showing the duration and nature of sentences imposed for each crime; and
(d) The resources of the department of corrections and other authorities to carry out the punishments that are imposed.
(4) The commission shall publish and distribute its system of recommended sentences on or before July 1, 1995. The commission shall study the implementation and use of the system of recommended sentences until July 1, 1998, and return a final report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the president pro tem of the senate. Following the July 1, 1998, report, the commission may revise the recommended sentences every three years.
(5) The governor shall select a chairperson who shall call meetings of the commission as required or permitted pursuant to the purpose of the sentencing commission.
(6) The members of the commission shall not receive compensation for their duties on the commission, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of these duties and for which they are not reimbursed by reason of their other paid positions.
(7) The circuit and associate circuit courts of this state, the office of the state courts administrator, the department of public safety, and the department of corrections shall cooperate with the commission by providing information or access to information needed by the commission. The office of the state courts administrator will provide needed staffing resources.
7. If the imposition or execution of a sentence is suspended, the court may consider ordering restorative justice methods pursuant to section 217.777, RSMo, including any or all of the following:
(1) Restitution to any victim for costs incurred as a result of the offender's actions;
(2) Offender treatment programs;
(3) Mandatory community services;
(4) Work release programs in local facilities;
(5) Community-based residential or nonresidential programs;
(6) Any other method that the court finds just or appropriate.
8. If the imposition or execution of a sentence is suspended for a misdemeanor, in addition to the provisions of subsection 7 of this section, the court may order the assessment and payment of a designated amount of money to a county crime reduction fund established by the county commission pursuant to section 50.555, RSMo. Said contribution shall not exceed one thousand dollars for any misdemeanor offense. Any money deposited into the county crime reduction fund pursuant to this section shall only be expended as authorized by section 50.555, RSMo. An annual audit of the fund shall be conducted by the county auditor or the state auditor.
9. The provisions of this section shall apply only to offenses occurring on or after August 28, 1994.
Missouri House of Representatives