HOUSE BILL NO. 2836 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE COLLINS.
5843H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To repeal section 558.019, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to minimum prison terms.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 558.019, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu 2 thereof, to be known as section 558.019, to read as follows: 558.019. 1. This section shall not be construed to affect the powers of the governor 2 under Article IV, Section 7, of the Missouri Constitution. This statute shall not affect those 3 provisions of section 565.020 or section 566.125, which set minimum terms of sentences, or 4 the provisions of section 559.115, relating to probation. 5 2. The provisions of subsections 2 to 5 of this section shall only be applicable to the 6 offenses contained in sections 565.021, 565.023, 565.024, 565.027, 565.050, 565.052, 7 565.054, 565.072, 565.073, 565.074, 565.090, 565.110, 565.115, 565.120, 565.153, 565.156, 8 565.225, 565.300, 566.030, 566.031, 566.032, 566.034, 566.060, 566.061, 566.062, 566.064, 9 566.067, 566.068, 566.069, 566.071, 566.083, 566.086, 566.100, 566.101, 566.103, 566.111, 10 566.115, 566.145, 566.151, 566.153, 566.203, 566.206, 566.209, 566.210, 566.211, 566.215, 11 568.030, 568.045, 568.060, 568.065, 568.175, 569.040, 569.160, 570.023, 570.025, 570.030 12 when punished as a class A, B, or C felony, 570.145 when punished as a class A or B felony, 13 570.223 when punished as a class B or C felony, 571.020, 571.030, 571.070, 573.023, 14 573.025, 573.035, 573.037, 573.200, 573.205, 574.070, 574.080, 574.115, 575.030, 575.150, 15 575.153, 575.155, 575.157, 575.200 when punished as a class A felony, 575.210, 575.230 16 when punished as a class B felony, 575.240 when punished as a class B felony, 576.070, 17 576.080, 577.010, 577.013, 577.078, 577.703, 577.706, 579.065, and 579.068 when punished
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 2836 2
18 as a class A or B felony. For the purposes of this section, "prison commitment" means and is 19 the receipt by the department of corrections of an offender after sentencing. For purposes of 20 this section, prior prison commitments to the department of corrections shall not include an 21 offender's first incarceration prior to release on probation under section 217.362 or 559.115. 22 Other provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, any offender who has been found 23 guilty of a felony other than a dangerous felony as defined in section 556.061 and is 24 committed to the department of corrections shall be required to serve the following minimum 25 prison terms: 26 (1) If the offender has one previous prison commitment to the department of 27 corrections for a felony offense, the minimum prison term which the offender must serve shall 28 be forty percent of his or her sentence or until the offender attains [seventy] sixty years of 29 age, and has served at least [thirty] twenty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever occurs 30 first; 31 (2) If the offender has two previous prison commitments to the department of 32 corrections for felonies unrelated to the present offense, the minimum prison term which the 33 offender must serve shall be fifty percent of his or her sentence or until the offender attains 34 [seventy] sixty years of age, and has served at least [forty] thirty percent of the sentence 35 imposed, whichever occurs first; 36 (3) If the offender has three or more previous prison commitments to the department 37 of corrections for felonies unrelated to the present offense, the minimum prison term which 38 the offender must serve shall be eighty percent of his or her sentence or until the offender 39 attains [seventy] sixty years of age, and has served at least [forty] thirty percent of the 40 sentence imposed, whichever occurs first. 41 3. Other provisions of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, any offender who has 42 been found guilty of a dangerous felony as defined in section 556.061 and is committed to the 43 department of corrections shall be required to serve a minimum prison term of eighty-five 44 percent of the sentence imposed by the court or until the offender attains [seventy] sixty years 45 of age, and has served at least [forty] thirty percent of the sentence imposed, whichever 46 occurs first. 47 4. For the purpose of determining the minimum prison term to be served, the 48 following calculations shall apply: 49 (1) A sentence of life shall be calculated to be thirty years; 50 (2) Any sentence either alone or in the aggregate with other consecutive sentences for 51 offenses committed at or near the same time which is over seventy-five years shall be 52 calculated to be seventy-five years. HB 2836 3
53 5. For purposes of this section, the term "minimum prison term" shall mean time 54 required to be served by the offender before he or she is eligible for parole, conditional 55 release or other early release by the department of corrections. 56 6. An offender who was convicted of, or pled guilty to, a felony offense other than 57 those offenses listed in subsection 2 of this section prior to August 28, 2019, shall no longer 58 be subject to the minimum prison term provisions under subsection 2 of this section, and shall 59 be eligible for parole, conditional release, or other early release by the department of 60 corrections according to the rules and regulations of the department. 61 7. (1) A sentencing advisory commission is hereby created to consist of eleven 62 members. One member shall be appointed by the speaker of the house. One member shall be 63 appointed by the president pro tem of the senate. One member shall be the director of the 64 department of corrections. Six members shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the 65 governor from among the following: the public defender commission; private citizens; a 66 private member of the Missouri Bar; the board of probation and parole; and a prosecutor. 67 Two members shall be appointed by the supreme court, one from a metropolitan area and one 68 from a rural area. All members shall be appointed to a four-year term. All members of the 69 sentencing commission appointed prior to August 28, 1994, shall continue to serve on the 70 sentencing advisory commission at the pleasure of the governor. 71 (2) The commission shall study sentencing practices in the circuit courts throughout 72 the state for the purpose of determining whether and to what extent disparities exist among 73 the various circuit courts with respect to the length of sentences imposed and the use of 74 probation for offenders convicted of the same or similar offenses and with similar criminal 75 histories. The commission shall also study and examine whether and to what extent 76 sentencing disparity among economic and social classes exists in relation to the sentence of 77 death and if so, the reasons therefor, if sentences are comparable to other states, if the length 78 of the sentence is appropriate, and the rate of rehabilitation based on sentence. It shall 79 compile statistics, examine cases, draw conclusions, and perform other duties relevant to the 80 research and investigation of disparities in death penalty sentencing among economic and 81 social classes. 82 (3) The commission shall study alternative sentences, prison work programs, work 83 release, home-based incarceration, probation and parole options, and any other programs and 84 report the feasibility of these options in Missouri. 85 (4) The governor shall select a chairperson who shall call meetings of the commission 86 as required or permitted pursuant to the purpose of the sentencing commission. 87 (5) The members of the commission shall not receive compensation for their duties 88 on the commission, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the HB 2836 4
89 performance of these duties and for which they are not reimbursed by reason of their other 90 paid positions. 91 (6) The circuit and associate circuit courts of this state, the office of the state courts 92 administrator, the department of public safety, and the department of corrections shall 93 cooperate with the commission by providing information or access to information needed by 94 the commission. The office of the state courts administrator will provide needed staffing 95 resources. 96 8. Courts shall retain discretion to lower or exceed the sentence recommended by the 97 commission as otherwise allowable by law, and to order restorative justice methods, when 98 applicable. 99 9. If the imposition or execution of a sentence is suspended, the court may order any 100 or all of the following restorative justice methods, or any other method that the court finds 101 just or appropriate: 102 (1) Restitution to any victim or a statutorily created fund for costs incurred as a result 103 of the offender's actions; 104 (2) Offender treatment programs; 105 (3) Mandatory community service; 106 (4) Work release programs in local facilities; and 107 (5) Community-based residential and nonresidential programs. 108 10. Pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection 9 of this section, the court may order the 109 assessment and payment of a designated amount of restitution to a county law enforcement 110 restitution fund established by the county commission pursuant to section 50.565. Such 111 contribution shall not exceed three hundred dollars for any charged offense. Any restitution 112 moneys deposited into the county law enforcement restitution fund pursuant to this section 113 shall only be expended pursuant to the provisions of section 50.565. 114 11. A judge may order payment to a restitution fund only if such fund had been 115 created by ordinance or resolution of a county of the state of Missouri prior to sentencing. A 116 judge shall not have any direct supervisory authority or administrative control over any fund 117 to which the judge is ordering a person to make payment. 118 12. A person who fails to make a payment to a county law enforcement restitution 119 fund may not have his or her probation revoked solely for failing to make such payment 120 unless the judge, after evidentiary hearing, makes a finding supported by a preponderance of 121 the evidence that the person either willfully refused to make the payment or that the person 122 willfully, intentionally, and purposefully failed to make sufficient bona fide efforts to acquire 123 the resources to pay. HB 2836 5
124 13. Nothing in this section shall be construed to allow the sentencing advisory 125 commission to issue recommended sentences in specific cases pending in the courts of this 126 state. ✔
Statutes affected: