Bill to remove $75/hour cap for attorney fees in agency proceedings wins backing in committee hearing

Representative Cameron Parker presented House Bill 28-65 to the House Judiciary Committee, proposing to remove a statutory $75-per-hour cap on attorney fees in agency proceedings and replace it with an award of "reasonable" attorney's fees.

Parker told the committee the $75 cap dates to 1989 and has hindered the ability to secure counsel in administrative proceedings for licensed professionals such as realtors, nurses and law enforcement officers. "We want somebody in these administrative proceedings that are fairly compensated," Parker said.

David Barrett, an attorney from Jefferson City who practices in licensing-defense matters, testified in support and described the real-world impact of the cap: he said recovering fees from agencies is difficult and that the current statutory limit forces licensees to shoulder much of their own legal costs when agencies are wrong. Barrett said, in his 20 years of practicing in the area, that fee recoveries often represent only a fraction of actual costs and argued removing the cap would allow judges and commissioners to award fees that reflect regional differences and actual attorney costs.

Representatives of the Missouri Bar (Ward Cook) and others (Andy Briscoe) also testified in favor, saying the change would improve access to counsel and better protect licensees facing agency proceedings. The committee took testimony and concluded the hearing; no opposition witnesses were recorded during this session.