CCS HS HCS SCS SB 712 -- STATE EMERGENCY HEALTH POWERS

This bill:

(1)  Prohibits the transport of hazardous materials through
highway tunnels, with penalties for violations;

(2)  Allows the State Water Patrol to close any waters in the
state to navigation or use in the event of a disaster;

(3)  Creates the crime of criminal water contamination, a class B
felony;

(4)  Allows the Attorney General to investigate the unlawful use
of funds by charitable organizations;

(5)  Changes the definition of the crime of making a terrorist
threat from threatening to commit a felony or making a false
report about the commission of a felony to threatening to commit
or making a false report about an incident or condition involving
danger to life;

(6)  Creates the Joint Committee on Terrorism, Bioterrorism, and
Homeland Security, to be composed of seven members of the House
of Representatives and seven members of the Senate.  No party may
be represented by more than four members from either chamber;

(7)  Defines "bioterrorism" as intentionally causing harm to a
living organism in order to influence the conduct of government
or coerce a civilian population;

(8)  Allows the issuance of temporary licenses to health care
practitioners licensed in another state who are acting under
military orders and are enrolled in trauma and disaster response
training in this state and also allows temporary licensure of
health care practitioners licensed in another state and acting
pursuant to a declaration of a state public health emergency by
the Governor;

(9)  Allows the registration and record keeping requirements for
narcotic drugs to be waived in the event of an emergency;

(10)  Revises the wiretapping law to allow prosecutors to apply
for an order authorizing a wiretap in a situation related to
terrorism, protects information legally collected, and makes
unauthorized wiretapping or intercepting of communications a
class D felony;

(11)  Adds an individual's exposure to a specific peril of death
due to a terrorist event to the list of circumstances that allow
probate.  Current law also allows a presumption of death after
five years and without proof otherwise.  Under the bill, exposure
to a specific peril of death due to a terrorist event may be
sufficient to presume a person dead at any time, even if five
years have not yet elapsed;

(12)  Adds engaging in a currency transaction with the purpose of
promoting or aiding terrorism or terrorist threats to the crime
of money laundering;

(13)  Revises the crime of making a false report to include
making reports to any person, not just law enforcement officials,
and making reports about incidents that are about to occur, not
just that have already occurred; and

(14)  Adds an exemption to the Sunshine Law, allowing closure of
meetings and records regarding specific information on certain
terrorism readiness issues.  However, certain information
regarding municipal utilities and information regarding costs of
security measures cannot be closed.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated October 11, 2002 at 9:04 am