JEFFERSON CITY — With under two weeks left in the legislative session, House lawmakers are eager to push through legislation by amending bills with ideas that have not seen advancement as standalone bills.
Senate Bill 1421, which was debated and amended on the House floor Tuesday, is one such example. Originally, the bill focused on privacy parameters on unmanned aircraft such as drones operating near critical infrastructure, such as stadiums being used for the World Cup this summer.
But over the course of several hours, representatives attached over 40 amendments to the bill after amending its title to encompass the broad idea of public safety.
Amendments added ranged from firearm restrictions, death penalties, stricter rules in visiting rights in prisons and AI-generated content. Most of the amendments offered have been approved by the House as bills of their own or had been attached to other bills that have stalled in the Senate.
By attaching amendments to a Senate bill designed to address a pressing matter, like added security for the World Cup, the hope is that the Senate would accept the amendments and pass them on.
However, as expected, late in the day the Senate declined to accept the House amendments and requested a conference committee to potentially iron out differences between the two chambers.
A variety of changes were accepted in the House, usually on voice votes.
House Amendment 16, sponsored by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, was highly debated on the floor. The amendment establishes that anyone impeding the work of first responders at the scene through harassment or threats within 25 feet can face repercussions.
Rep. Marty Joe Murray, D-St. Louis, and Rep. Ray Reed, D-St. Louis, spoke in opposition to the amendment. Both Reed and Murray were concerned about the implications it may have on bystanders trying to record and hold “bad actors” accountable.
House Amendment 13, sponsored by Rep. Darin Chappell, R-Rogersville, allows members of the attorney general’s office to carry and use firearms in the line of duty. It also encompasses other firearm laws that allow for concealed carry of weapons on public transportation and in self defense, greatly expanding those freedoms.
The amendment also strengthens the penalties for both serious and repeated firearm offenses. It also protects the rights of state employees to have firearms in their locked personal vehicles on state property. The amendment also provides exceptions on school regulations that ban weapons, allowing them for ROTC, school-sanctioned gun safety courses or school firearm clubs or events.
House Amendment 17, sponsored by Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson, creates a new domestic violence offender registry.
It would list people who have at least two domestic violence related convictions and would start a state grant program to prevent domestic violence and provide intervention services.
House Amendment 21, sponsored by Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Whitewater, was one of the few amendments subjected to a roll call vote, passing 75-68. It changes post-conviction legal procedures in death penalty cases, seeking to speed up the process.