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Missouri Senate adopts broad public‑safety package; emergency clause for drone language enacted
Summary
The Missouri Senate adopted the conference committee substitute for Senate Bill 14‑21, expanding an unmanned‑aircraft measure into a multi‑part public‑safety package that includes automatic expungement pilot language, school‑bus safety cameras, the Missouri Rangers program, and other crime‑related provisions; the chamber adopted an emergency clause limited to the drone section.
The Missouri Senate on May 21 adopted the conference committee substitute for Senate Bill 14‑21, approving a public‑safety package that folded the earlier unmanned‑aircraft (drone) bill into a broader set of criminal‑justice and public‑safety measures. Senator from the second, sponsor of the conference report, told colleagues the bill "started out as a very small bill" focused on unmanned aircraft and was later expanded on the House side to include a variety of public‑safety provisions.
The conference substitute includes: a clean‑slate/automatic‑expungement provision with an administrative funding mechanism (a fee described on the floor as "no more than 50¢" that would be deposited into a criminal record system fund); a Missouri Rangers training program that, as amended, leaves schools or hiring districts with the discretion to determine whether a hired Ranger carries a firearm and requires specified holster standards where firearms are permitted; school‑bus safety cameras and increased penalties for failure to stop for school buses; tightened controls on methamphetamine precursor sales and pseudoephedrine tracking; and revisions affecting bail and surety administration. The sponsor described negotiations with prosecutors, the Supreme Court’s office, credit reporting agencies and other stakeholders in drafting the clean‑slate and body‑camera disclosure language.
The Senate first adopted the conference committee report on a roll call (clerk reported 26 ayes, 5 nos). The substitute was then given third reading and was declared passed on a later roll (the clerk recorded 28 ayes, 4 nos). The Senate separately adopted an emergency clause confined to the drone portion of the law by a roll of 30 ayes to 1 no, enabling that section to take effect immediately on enactment.
Senators pressed the sponsor on process and language during a lengthy floor exchange. The senator from the fourth asked why new language appeared in the conference substitute and whether members had adequate time to review the circulated versions; the sponsor said the conference committee had worked off negotiated language and distributed a single consolidated copy to members. On the automatic‑expungement plan, the sponsor said the $0.50 fee was intended to avoid a fiscal note and to seed the criminal record system fund to support automated processing.
What happens next: after final engrossment and enrollment, the bill will be transmitted to the governor. The emergency clause applies only to the drone section, according to the sponsor; other sections will take effect under standard statutory timing unless the governor agrees to the emergency provision. Implementation details for the automatic expungement pilot, including eligibility and operational rules, will be set by the agencies and statute, subject to the language adopted in the conference substitute.
Votes and formal actions from today’s floor: the conference committee report on the substitute was adopted (first roll: 26–5), the substitute was passed on third reading (28–4) and the emergency clause for the drone portion was adopted (30–1).
