SB 888 Missouri Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Modifies provisions relating to the criminal systems

SB 888 modifies Missouri's juvenile justice system by changing when minors aged 12-18 can be transferred to adult court for serious offenses. It mandates hearings (and allows discretion for other felonies) for youth accused of specific crimes like murder, violent assault, drug trafficking, or two prior felonies, while automatically transferring 18-21-year-olds to adult court. The bill requires courts to consider factors like offense severity, victim impact, rehabilitation potential, and racial disparity before transferring cases, and prohibits using age misrepresentation to avoid legal consequences. Written reports detailing these criteria must accompany transfer decisions, and prosecutors gain access to relevant case records during the process. This affects youth facing serious charges who may lose juvenile court protections for certain offenses.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed Apr 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

3/4/2026 - SA 1 to SS#2 S offered & adopted (Schroer)--(5440S12.07S) 3/4/2026 - Adopted → 3/4/2026 - SS#3 S offered & adopted (Schroer)--(5440S.14F) 3/4/2026 - Adopted · 5 edits

MODERATE

The document transitioned from a specific Senate amendment regarding a single line edit to a comprehensive Senate Substitute that repeals over 30 existing criminal justice statutes and enacts 34 new sections. This represents a major legislative overhaul of Missouri's criminal history record system, including updated requirements for fingerprinting, reporting, and prosecution referrals.

Scope change

The scope expanded from a minor text correction to a complete restructuring of the criminal justice code, replacing numerous repealed sections with new provisions.

SCOPE

The bill now serves as a full act to repeal and replace multiple sections of the Revised Statutes of Missouri related to criminal justice.

REQUIREMENT

New mandates require law enforcement agencies to submit traffic and ordinance violation referrals to prosecutors by January 1, 2028, including probable cause statements and investigative reports.

ELIGIBILITY

Fingerprinting requirements for juveniles were modified to apply to specific serious felony offenses and repeat offenses, with instructions to protect juvenile identity in records.

ENFORCEMENT

Agencies that fail to comply with new referral requirements face ineligibility for state and federal law enforcement funding.

TECHNICAL

Removed a specific line edit instruction to change the word 'of' to 'or' in Section 558.031.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 7, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor

executive

Mar 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Duly Enrolled Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

H Third Read and Passed

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Do Pass H Fiscal Review

lower

Mar 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Voted Do Pass H Fiscal Review

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred H Fiscal Review Committee

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Do Pass H Rules - Administrative

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Voted Do Pass H Rules - Administrative

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Committee

Referred H Rules - Administrative

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Do Pass H Corrections and Public Institutions

lower

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Voted Do Pass H Corrections and Public Institutions

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Referred H Corrections and Public Institutions

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

S Third Read and Passed

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from S Fiscal Oversight Committee

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Voted Do Pass S Fiscal Oversight Committee

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Committee

Referred S Fiscal Oversight Committee

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Truly Perfected S Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

SS#3 S offered & adopted (Schroer)--(5440S.14F)

upper

Mar 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

SA 1 to SS#2 S offered & adopted (Schroer)--(5440S12.07S)

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

upper

Jan 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Voted Do Pass S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

upper

Jan 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Hearing Conducted S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee

upper

Dec 1, 2025

Introduced

Prefiled

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors