House Rules Committee uses random draw, advances six bills including limit on NDAs in child-abuse cases

The Missouri House Legislative Rules Committee voted to advance six measures after the chair used a randomized draw to select which bills would be heard.

The committee, chaired by Chair Cupps, moved to “due pass” recommendations on House Bill 709 (limits on nondisclosure agreements in child sexual-abuse cases), House Bill 131 (juror compensation), House Bill 168 (STEM grants), the House committee substitute for House Bills 433 and 630 (regulation of treatment and use of gold and silver), the House committee substitute for House Bill 793 (campaign finance), and the House committee substitute for House Bill 950 (driver’s license requirements). All six measures were approved by the committee in roll-call votes reported on the record.

Chair Cupps opened the meeting by explaining the committee would try a different process to select bills for consideration, saying, “We have 22 house bills and 0 senate bills. . . . Going forward, we’re only gonna do 5 house bills for every senate bill that we get.” The chair described using a bingo-style device to randomly draw six items for the day’s docket, identifying House Bill 709 as a free space selected for immediate consideration.

Why it matters: HB 709 addresses nondisclosure agreements in child sexual-abuse cases, a topic the chair said merited priority. The other measures affect a range of state functions from juror pay and STEM education grants to campaign finance rules and driver’s license requirements; together the actions move those proposals out of the rules committee and into the legislative process for further consideration by the House.

Votes and outcomes (as recorded on the committee transcript): House Bill 709 — “nondisclosure agreements in child sexual-abuse cases,” sponsor: Representative Sites; motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: 9–0, due passed. House Bill 131 — “compensation for jurors,” sponsor: Representative Veet; motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: 8–0 with the chair recorded as voting present (committee reported 8 yes, 0 no and the chair voting present); due passed. House Bill 168 — “STEM grants,” sponsor: Representative Brown (140th District, per transcript); motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: 9–0; due passed. House Committee Substitute for House Bills 433 and 630 — “regulate the treatment and use of gold and silver,” sponsor referenced as Representative Hardwick in transcript discussion; motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: 6–3; due passed. House Committee Substitute for House Bill 793 — “campaign finance,” sponsor: Representative Benjamin Baker; motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: 6 yes, 2 no, 1 present; due passed. House Committee Substitute for House Bill 950 — “driver’s license requirements,” sponsor: Representative Bishop Davidson; motion: due pass; mover: Chair Cupps; committee vote: reported as 8 yes, 0 no and the chair voting present (transcript recording garbled); due passed.

Discussion and context: Committee debate on each item, as recorded in the transcript, was brief. The chair and members generally moved each bill to a roll call without extended deliberation. Representative Billington asked to see “a sample” during the consideration of the gold-and-silver bills; Chair Cupps acknowledged the request and said staff would follow up. Representative Sites and Representative Veet were both noted as present when their sponsored bills were considered.

The committee’s selection method was a recurring theme in the meeting. Chair Cupps repeatedly urged members and offices to send senate bills to the committee so the rules panel would have a different mix of items to consider in future hearings. The meeting concluded after the roll calls and the chair’s closing remarks.

The transcript does not include bill text, detailed fiscal notes, or substantive amendments beyond the committee substitutes named on the record; those details were not specified during the hearing and remain to be reviewed in subsequent committee work or the full House.

Adjournment: The chair adjourned the committee after completing roll-call votes on the drawn bills.