HCS HB 272 -- CIVILIAN REVIEW BOARDS

SPONSOR:  Lipke (Pratt)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass" by the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Public Safety by a vote of 11 to 0.

This substitute establishes requirements for serving on a
civilian review board.  Every member is required to be at least
18 years old, a registered voter residing in the city or county,
and not have been convicted of a felony, a class A misdemeanor,
or a class B misdemeanor.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2006, FY 2007, and
FY 2008.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that current law does not require any
qualifications for a person to serve on a civilian review board.
The people serving in these positions have enormous
responsibility and should have at least minimum qualifications.

Testifying for the bill were Representative Pratt; Missouri State
Fraternal Order of Police; Kansas City Police Officers
Association; St. Louis Police Officers Association; and Missouri
Police Chiefs' Association.

OPPONENTS:  Those who oppose the bill say that it requires higher
standards than those required to become a police officer or a
member of the police board of commissioners.  There are people
working as police officers in this state who have been convicted
of a felony.  If you can be a police officer, you should be able
to volunteer on the board that looks into allegations of police
misconduct.

Testifying against the bill were Representative El-Amin; and
Coalition Against Police Crime and Repression.

Richard Smreker, Senior Legislative Analyst

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:18 pm