People in Missouri will be able to drive up to 75 miles per hour and will need to upload identification proving they're old enough to access porn sites.
Those and other laws passed during the legislative session go into effect on Aug. 28.
Porn verification law
Under House Bill 1839, if the site has "more than one-third (of content) of which is sexual material harmful to minors", users need to prove they're old enough to see it.
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation filed several lawsuits over a similar law in Kansas on behalf of a 14-year-old boy who easily accessed porn sites. A U.S. district judge dismissed some of them because the companies were based outside of the state. The Missouri law passed easily, but some lawmakers questioned how effective enforcement will be.
The law will solidify the Missouri attorney general's rule, which went into effect last November.
DWIs and child support
"Bentley and Mason's Law" will require drunk drivers to pay child support if they killed a parent in a crash. Cecilia Williams, a grandmother of two boys who took custody of the children after their parents were killed by a drunk driver, has been fighting for the law since 2021.
The broader bill, House Bill 1740, will increase penalties for impaired driving and mandate a car breathalyzer after first-time offenses.
Divorce while pregnant
House Bill 1908 will make it easier for pregnant people to get divorced. Prior to Friday, a judge could use pregnancy as reason to delay finalizing a divorce — an issue Republican representative from just outside St. Louis Rep. Cecelie Williams testified she faced herself. The law passed unanimously. Starting Friday, courts won't be allowed to prevent a dissolution of marriage or legal separation based on pregnancy status.
New laws for public schools
Missouri public schools will be required to outline prohibited antisemitic behavior under House Bill 2061 and include penalties. The law adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism, which a few Democrats worried would stifle criticism about conflict in the Middle East.
The lead drafter of the definition has previously warned that the Trump administration's interpretation has been made to silence anti-Israel critics. The definition reads that "criticism of Israel that is similar to criticism toward any other country shall not be construed to be antisemitic."
Missouri schools will be able to hire armed "Missouri Rangers" under Senate Bill 905. The rangers will be trained on things like combating active shooters and implicit and racial bias.
If authorized by the school or school district, a ranger can bring a lethal weapon — like a gun — to the school and school property. Republicans say the new rangers will keep schools, especially ones far away from police stations, safe. Democrats argue the way to curb violence in schools isn't by adding more guns.
Rounding up on speed and cents
House Bill 2819 is Missouri's final two cents on the penny. It allows businesses to round cash transactions to the nearest nickel.
Plus, the maximum speed limit on rural interstates and freeways will increase from 70 to 75 mph.
Other laws from the last legislative session, like the one that took intoxicating help products off the shelf, went into effect earlier this year.
Others still have some time. The controversial "born alive" anti-abortion bill that will make it a crime potentially punishable by the death penalty to kill an infant after a failed abortion, won't take effect until July 2027.
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