SPONSOR: Dolan
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Judiciary by a vote of 11 to 0.
The bill amends the definitions of "adult" and "child" in Chapter 455, RSMo, related to protective orders resulting from adult abuse. Currently, "adult" is defined as any person 17 years of age or older, and "child" is defined as any person under 17 years of age. This bill increases the age reference from 17 to 18 for both definitions.
This bill is similar to HB 736 (2025).
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that this is a cleanup bill that is a result of the raise the age legislation that was passed a few years ago, where the age of a child was changed to under 18 years old rather than under 17 years old. These sections were accidentally left out of that legislation. This applies to orders of protection, specifically changing the age in the definitions of "adult" and "child" to make sure it keeps the ages correct.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Dolan; and Eric D. Jennings, Judicial Conference of Missouri.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: