HB 374 Passes in Closing Hours of Legislative Session
by Judge Michael Cordonnier

In the closing hours of the 2013 Legislative session, the general assembly "Truly Agreed and Finally Passed" a judicial omnibus bill. The bill was debated throughout the session, and necessarily included many amendments and necessary compromises from both the House and Senate. It is expected the bill will now be presented to the Governor for signature. While the bill has many provisions related to the law and judiciary, of particular importance to the SMBA are the following:

1. A provision that would authorize an additional associate circuit judge in judicial circuits that meet certain weighted workload parameters. Greene County meets those requirements, and in anticipation of this authorization, the state budget passed earlier in the session included a provision for the additional judge, and clerk, in Greene County.
2. A provision that would require the State to take over financial responsibility for the Family Court Commissioners in certain circuits, including Greene County.
3. A provision that would allow those judicial circuits that are obligated to reimburse the State for their Family Court Commissioner(s) to increase the civil case surcharge by $5, to an amount that would equal that charged by Jackson County.

On a broader scale, the bill includes a provision by which the Missouri Supreme Court shall evaluate the allocation of judicial resources throughout the State, based on population, weighted workload models and other data, and provide guidelines to the legislature for their consideration of shifting those resources over time. In addition the bill authorizes the Judicial Conference to alter the geographical boundaries and territorial jurisdiction of the various judicial circuits. This "circuit realignment plan" must be based on specific criteria set forth in the statute, and will first be authorized in the year 2020, and every 20 years thereafter.

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