A sweeping criminal justice bill that includes major changes to the state's treatment of juvenile offenders is quickly making its way through the Missouri legislature.
The legislation passed the Senate on a 20-9 vote Thursday. On Tuesday, immediately after a public hearing, a House committee voted 9-7 to advance the legislation to the House floor.
Certification of juveniles as adults
The bill would allow prosecutors to request that juveniles who have committed the most serious felonies be certified as adults.
Minors who commit three distinct felonies within 180 days would also qualify to be tried as adults.
"Each time they're put back on the street, they don't even have a slap on the wrist," said Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, using St. Louis teens as an example. "So, they're getting away with it. So, they get more emboldened." Schroer is the bill's sponsor.
Under current law, juvenile officers, not prosecutors, typically file those requests.
In 2024, 103 juveniles were certified as adults. The vast majority were tried in St. Louis and St. Louis County, according to a Missouri Courts Juvenile and Family Division report.
Trying more children as adults deprives them of access to rehabilitation built into the state's juvenile justice model, said Sheena Rogers, an organizer with the Missouri Justice Coalition who testified in opposition.
"I was a 17-year-old that was thrown into an adult jail. I remember exactly what that felt like – a kid being placed in a system designed for punishment, not change," Rogers said. "The experience did not make me better."
Other changes to juvenile justice
The definition of a child would be changed to include people under 18, rather than under 17.
The legislation would also create a juvenile criminal history database for access by law enforcement agencies.
Additionally, fingerprints and names of anyone under 18 who is taken into custody for serious crimes would be included in the state's fingerprint database.
The legislation would allow county governments to open juvenile detention centers, a provision championed by Sen. Jill Carter, R-Granby.
With voter approval, counties would be permitted to impose a 1% sales tax to operate the facilities.
"That is a $1 billion tax increase potentially in the state," said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-Affton, "when you're not funding our schools and everything else."
Much of the state's information on juveniles would be closed to the public, including court proceedings and records on those who have been fingerprinted.
Schroer's bill would also ban the practice of placing minors in leg restraints, unless they pose an immediate risk or have been charged with the most serious felonies.
Mandatory prison time
Currently, the time an inmate serves before becoming eligible for parole can vary.
The wide-ranging legislation would set strict guidelines for the percentage of their sentences inmates must serve, depending on the charge.
In the House committee, Locke Thompson, the Cole County prosecuting attorney, testified that the legislation would provide clarity for victims and their families.
"We see, often, victims being told, 'Oh, hey, your attacker's out. They got sentenced to 15 years and they're out in two or three,'" Thompson said. "They feel like they've been victimized all over again."
Sens. Karla May, D-St. Louis, and Barbara Washington, D-Kansas City, negotiated with Schroer so first-time offenders could serve shorter sentences.
The bill also allows time served in a Department of Corrections long-term substance abuse program to count toward an inmate's prison term.
Dangerous felonies and other provisions
Schroer's bill changes the definition of a dangerous felony to include statutory rape and sodomy in the first degree. It removes a provision saying it applies only if the victim is under 12.
It also adds child endangerment, abuse through forced labor and sex trafficking of children or for the purpose of slavery or sexual exploitation to the state's list of dangerous felonies.
The legislation would create stricter sentencing requirements for rape, sodomy and sex trafficking and add intoxicating substances to the list of ways considered as sexually exploiting others.
Certain sex offenders and people who commit the most serious felonies would no longer be eligible for conditional release, which, unlike parole, is a mandatory release based on the amount of time served.
Senate Democrats negotiated for other felons to retain their right to a conditional release, Schroer told the House committee.
The court would also be required to sentence people to extended time in prison if the person being tried is a repeat or dangerous offender.
"The individual who ended up killing two of our men in blue – they would have been put behind bars and wouldn't have had the opportunity to do what they did," Schroer said, referring to a Christian County man on bond who officials said killed two officers last month.
Cost concerns
Both Senate and House Democrats raised concerns about the legislation's price tag – in fiscal 2028, it's estimated to cost about $1.5 million and in 2029, nearly $870 million.
Schroer said the fiscal note doesn't account for the legislation's positive impact on communities.
"Once we attack the violent crime, once we start allowing for kids to get the resources to get their lives together, we'll see the communities embracing it and becoming beacons of growth," Schroer said.
Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins, D-St. Louis, and other Democrats on the House committee protested how fast the bill is moving.
"We're facing a crammed budget, and we have to go out and tell members of our community that we can't support your initiative, or we have to cut services for vital needs, because we're too busy trying to cram a bill like this in," Collins said.
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