Senator backs missing and murdered African American women and girls task force provision in public-safety substitute

The substitute for House Bill 495 also includes a provision to create a task force on missing and murdered African American women and girls, a measure the senator identified in the transcript as the Senator from the thirteenth described as modeled on legislation passed in Minnesota and other states.

Why it matters: advocates and the sponsor argue African American women and girls are overrepresented among missing-person and homicide cases and that a dedicated task force would help centralize investigations, improve interagency data sharing and provide policy recommendations.

What the text and sponsor say The senator from the thirteenth told colleagues she first filed the bill after seeing a Minnesota law and advocacy in St. Louis. She said the task force membership is extensive, naming legislative appointments (two senators, two house members) and multiple executive and law-enforcement seats (including the director of public safety or designee, representatives of the state police and the Missouri Police Chiefs Association, county coroners or designees, juvenile court attorneys and the US attorney’s office), along with multiple seats for statewide or local organizations that provide legal services, advocacy or direct services to African American women and girls.

The sponsor cited statistics on the floor: “They make up 11% of the population. However, 42% of the missing and murdered are African American women and girls,” the senator said in her explanation on the floor, and described that the panel would issue an annual report on findings to the governor and the general assembly on or before Dec. 31 each year.

Examples raised in debate The sponsor discussed specific cases raised by families and advocacy organizations in the hearing and floor remarks — for example, Marquisha Williams, whose family located her body across a state line; the sponsor said Williams’ children and extended family faced long-term financial and caregiving burdens after the loss. The senator said she intended the panel to include representatives of nonprofit search organizations and survivors and to examine barriers in victim‑services funds and eligibility rules for crime victims.

Where things stand The sponsor told the body the task force language is part of the substitute being debated on the floor; the Senate discussion of the overall substitute continued after the task-force remarks. The transcript shows the sponsor seeking to have the language progress as part of the package and noting the panel would expire in 2027 unless extended.