House lawmakers pass crime reduction fund bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Judges could order criminal defendants to contribute to a special fund that would supplement local law enforcement budgets under a bill approved Thursday by the House of Representatives.

The measure sponsored by four Southeast Missouri lawmakers cleared the House 109-42. All 14 area representatives voted for the bill, which now goes to the Senate.

Under the legislation, county commissions get the power to establish "crime reduction funds" that would be supported by payments from defendants as a condition of probation. A defendant could be required to pay no more than $1,000.

State Rep. Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, dismissed concerns raised by opponents that defendants could buy their way to leniency. Mayer is the bill's lead sponsor.

"Offenders who don't want to participate in this program don't have to," Mayer said. "There are other terms of probation a judge could put it place."

However, state Rep. Barbara Wall Fraser, D-St. Louis, said the system would favor the wealthy.

"Essentially it's a disadvantage to poor people who cannot afford to pay $1,000 but provides a way out for those who can pay," Fraser said.

Despite her opposition, Fraser said it is the best version of the bill she has seen in recent years as it provides some independent control over how crime reduction money is spent.

A past criticism has been that the measure would create slush funds for county sheriffs to use as they saw fit.

A provision of Mayer's bill requires that each county that has such a fund also establish a board of trustees to oversee its administration. The county sheriff, prosecutor and presiding commissioner would each pick one citizen to serve on the three-member panel.

Specific uses

The money could only be used for narcotics investigation and prevention, equipment purchases, to match state and federal grants, compliance with state and federal reporting requirements, and other law enforcement related expenses.

County commissions would be prohibited from reducing the budgets of agencies to offset money received from crime reduction funds.

Many counties had such funds until 1998 when the Missouri Supreme Court ruled they had overstepped their authority in creating them. Even since the decision, area lawmakers have pushed legislation to specifically allow the funds. Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan has been a persistent lobbyist for the measure, including testifying for the current bill at a recent legislative hearing.

The bill twice cleared both chambers of the legislature only to fail to become law. Then-Gov. Mel Carnahan vetoed it in 1999. Two years later, the chambers inadvertently approved slightly different versions, nullifying passage.

The bill is HB 91.

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