New Laws Passed in Missouri as of 2020

Dozens of new laws took effect as of Wednesday January 1st, 2020 in Missouri ranging from healthcare to corporate income tax rates.

House Bill 138 was passed and became Simon’s Law. Simon’s Law prohibits any health care facility, nursing home, physician, nurse or medical staff from having the power to put a “do not resuscitate” order on a minor patient’s chart without consent from a legal guardian.

Through House Bill 192, a new criminal justice law was passed. In some areas of Missouri inmates are forced to pay “board bills.” After they leave jail they have to pay for room and board. Now, you can no longer be re-incarnated for not paying your board bill.

Now that Senate Bill 89 was passed, hitting a utility worker or highway worker in a work zone will result in you getting your license revoked when before it resulted in a hefty fine. Your license can also be revoked for hitting an emergency responder in an active emergency zone. 

Another new law involving Missouri Drivers will add five years to motor vehicle biannual inspection requirements. Prior vehicles were exempt from biennial mechanical inspections for five years after the model year, but now it is 10 years as long as the vehicle has less than 150,000 miles.

Two of the new lawsuit restrictions are Senate Bill 7 and 30. Bill seven requires that plaintiffs (People that claim a law has been broken) have standing in the court where they plan to sue, meaning they have to live in the state or have been injured there to sue. It also states that you can no longer sue jointly. Bill 30 states that not wearing a seat belt can be considered evidence of negligence, which can be used as evidence in a lawsuit.

A new law will decrease Missouri’s corporate income tax rate from 6.2% to 4%. It is now one of the lowest in the nation. The law will also take away the option of calculating corporate income that would potentially end in higher Missouri tax bills for multi-state businesses.  

Senate Bill 514 modifies 30 provisions relating to health care. It includes subjects like health insurance for persons with disabilities, opioid prescriptions for sickle cell patients, hospital inspections, and family and marital therapist training.