JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed three bills into law Tuesday afternoon.
The first was an expansive criminal justice bill that raises minimum time-served requirements and allows prosecutors more involvement in juvenile cases. The second adds new offenses and penalties for sex trafficking. The third allows pregnant women to get a divorce. Previously, that was not allowed, and this bill was designed to help pregnant women get out of abusive relationships.
Two Democrats, including Minority Floor Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, stood by Kehoe's side as he signed the divorce bill into law. The law expanding criminal offenses for sex trafficking also received mostly bipartisan support.
The bill sponsor believes House Bill 1908 would help victims of domestic violence.
However, the criminal sentencing bill did not.
Many Democrats expressed concern that this will put more people in prison and keep them there longer. It raises the minimum sentencing and the minimum percentage of a sentence prisoners must serve for several crimes.
It also allows prosecutors more involvement in juvenile cases.
Previously, juvenile cases were handled completely separately from a prosecutor's office, with a separate juvenile court handling a certification hearing to determine whether someone under 18 should be tried as an adult. This new law allows prosecutors to present evidence before that point.
The Boone County prosecuting attorney said the bills would make it easier to charge parents criminally and make juvenile records more accessible.
"If a juvenile is going to act like an adult and commit a crime like an adult, they need to understand that those, unfortunately, have consequences," Kehoe said.
Some Democrats argued this could lead to juveniles being tried as adults who shouldn't be. State Rep. Kimberly-Ann Collins, D-St. Louis, has sponsored several bills to try to establish more oversight for the Missouri Department of Corrections. She said she does not want prosecutors involved in a juvenile case until the juvenile court determines the offender should be tried as an adult.
"Of course, we always have concerns about that," Collins said. "And I don't think that prosecutors should be allowed to be inserted or be involved in that type of step."
She also expressed concern about costs the bill would bring. A fiscal note shows an estimated general revenue cost of more than $869 million in the fiscal year ending in 2029, which includes costs to build a new prison.
Collins said this is not how she would invest in corrections, especially since Missouri's surplus revenues are running out and revenues are decreasing.