Several state laws going into effect Wednesday
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Several Missouri bills will officially go into effect on Wednesday that will make a variety of modifications to public safety laws, effect abortion and recommendations to prevent veteran suicide.
Senate Bill 754 was signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson in July. Two of these changes include establishing Blair’s Law and Max’s Law. Blair’s Law, named after Blair Shanahan Lane, a Kansas City girl who was killed by gunfire in 2011, makes celebratory gunfire a class A misdemeanor for the first offense, a class E felony for the second offense, and a class D felony for any third or subsequent offenses.
Max’s Law, named after a St. Joseph Police K-9 officer who was shot and killed in 2021, increases the penalty of an assault on a law enforcement animal from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Missouri House Bill 2634 prevents government funds from going to any abortion facility or affiliate to an abortion facility. This bill would prohibit money from Medicaid to go toward facilities that perform abortions, such as Planned Parenthood.
In a press release Monday, Missouri's two Planned Parenthood affiliates, Great Plains and Great Rivers, announced they filed complaints in the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission after being removed from the Missouri Medicaid Program.
Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit to block a ban on medicaid reimbursements from the state. According to the release, Planned Parenthood will continue to accept Medicaid patients at health care centers across Missouri as the lawsuit continues.
Two bills signed, Senate Bill 912 and House Bill 1495, will provide more support to Missouri veterans and military members, according to a press release.
HB 1495 directs the Missouri Veterans Commission to review current practices and recommend more ways to prevent veteran suicide.
The bill text states the MVC along with the Department of Mental Health must file a report before July 1, 2025, and annually to the General Assembly on the "recommendations, implementation, and effectiveness of the efforts by the Commission to prevent veteran suicide."
SB 912 includes a condition identical to HB 1495 along with others relating to military and veterans affairs, according to the release. The bill also authorizes certain tuition fee waivers and grants for Missouri National Guard members working towards an undergraduate degree. It will also create the Missouri Veterans and Job Opportunity Grant Program.
