A Senate committee heard a House bill Monday that would modify numerous public safety provisions. There have been 35 proposed amendments to the bill, 15 of which have been adopted.
Amendments address topics such as child pornography and artificial intelligence, safety of first responders, gift card fraud and fire codes.
House Bill 3068, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Myers, R-Warrenton, was heard on the House floor in late April with over three hours of discussion.
The bill initially offered alterations to the sex offender registry. It is now what many would call a “Christmas tree bill,” meaning it has branched out to cover a variety of provisions.
The AI portion of the bill would prohibit AI tools from being classified as mental health professionals and crack down on the distribution of sexually explicit AI content.
AI services would be deemed incapable of acting as mental health professionals and advertising AI chatbots as mental health professionals.
The bill would also prohibit the imitation of human “likeness” in sexually explicit material produced by AI, including using a person’s voice.
Restrictions aim to prohibit sexual depictions of minors in photos, videos and computer-generated content. A child is classified as anyone under 14 years of age in the bill.
Violators of the law would be subject to civil penalties. There will be a fine of $10,000 upon the first offense and $20,000 upon the second offense.
Another amendment to the bill would focus on eliminating gift card fraud.
Tampering of any kind with EBT, food stamps and physical and digital gift cards would be labeled as felonies under the bill’s provisions.
Violators will be classified as Class C felons for any amount of tampering valued at least $25,000, Class B felons for any amount over $750 and Class A misdemeanors for any amount under $750.
A section of the bill relating to fire safety would require the Missouri Division of Fire Safety to adopt Missouri fire and life safety standards with new minimum requirements for safety.
The new requirements will affect means of egress, fire resistance, fire alarms, emergency operations and other safety measures for state-inspected facilities.
Jorgen Schlemeier, representing the Missouri Assisted Living Association, testified in opposition to the bill. He said the legislation would require them to comply with at least two different state fire safety codes.
“We want government efficiency,” Schlemeier said. “We want a code and we do not want multiple inspections over the same issue.”
The Missouri Division of Fire Safety would also make necessary adjustments to the fire and life safety standards every five years under the bill’s requirements.
Compliance with these new standards would be verified through inspections done by either the Division of Fire Safety or other local jurisdictions.
State inspected facilities will not be authorized for operation unless they are found in accordance with the new policy.
Another provision in the bill would make it an offense to impede, threaten or harass a first responder after bring told to back at least 25 feet away from or not approach an on-duty first responder.
The proposed legislation would make it a Class D misdemeanor to impede, threaten or harass a first responder in this way.
Other topics under the bill include:
- Use of cell phones while operating commercial vehicles
- Distribution of controlled substances
- Driver’s license suspension
- Registry of persistent violent offenders
The bill will need to pass through the Senate committee before reaching the Senate floor for debate.
