Rep. Deanna Self

Maddy summaryHB 1667, the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act," requires healthcare providers at abortion facilities to provide immediate medical care to any child born alive during or after an abortion, treating them as they would any other newborn. Providers must use standard medical care to preserve the child's life and arrange hospital admission, with failure to report violations carrying criminal penalties (up to 5 years in prison or $10,000 fines). The bill also establishes civil liability for providers who fail to provide care, for actions causing death of a born-alive child, or for performing unlawful abortions, allowing lawsuits for injury or death with damages including loss of companionship. It explicitly states that consent to an abortion cannot be used as a defense in such cases.

Maddy summaryHB 2033, known as the "Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act," prohibits health care providers in Missouri from performing gender transition surgeries or prescribing cross-sex hormones and puberty-blocking drugs for gender transition to individuals under 18 years old. The law includes a temporary exception allowing continued treatment for minors who began such care before August 28, 2023, until March 1, 2027. Violations would be deemed unprofessional conduct, risking license revocation for providers, and could lead to civil lawsuits against them. This bill directly affects transgender and gender-diverse minors under 18 seeking medical transition care and the health care providers who treat them in Missouri.

Maddy summaryHB 1908 ensures Missouri courts can grant a divorce (dissolution of marriage) or legal separation even if one party is pregnant. The bill explicitly states that pregnancy status does not prevent a court from entering such a judgment, removing any prior barrier. Courts must still meet standard requirements, including residency, the marriage being irretrievably broken (for divorce) or not (for legal separation), and arrangements for children and property. This change directly affects individuals in Missouri family court cases involving pregnancy who seek divorce or legal separation.

Maddy summaryHB 1694, the "Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation," creates a legal defense for Missouri residents and businesses targeted by lawsuits alleging website accessibility violations under the ADA or state law. It defines "abusive litigation" as lawsuits primarily seeking monetary settlement rather than improving accessibility, and allows Missouri residents or the Attorney General to challenge such suits in court. Key provisions include a 90-day window for defendants to fix accessibility issues before new claims can be deemed abusive, and courts may award attorney fees and punitive damages (up to three times fees) against parties filing abusive lawsuits. The bill expires if the federal DOJ issues website accessibility standards under the ADA. It directly affects Missouri-based website operators and plaintiffs filing accessibility lawsuits in state courts.

Maddy summaryHB 2559 requires state agencies to obtain legislative approval before implementing new administrative rules that would cost over $250,000 annually for government, businesses, or individuals. Agencies must notify the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and the full legislature, which must pass a concurrent resolution approving the rule before it takes effect. Rules not approved this way become invalid, with exceptions for federal compliance or funding requirements. This directly affects state agencies creating significant-cost rules and shifts authority to the legislature for final approval.

Maddy summaryHB 2161 modifies Missouri law to establish a process for cities and counties with similar library tax levies to merge their library services into a single city-county library board. It specifically affects St. Charles County libraries (and any qualifying county under 250,000 population) by requiring the city and county to petition their respective governing bodies for approval. The bill creates a 9-member board appointed based on population comparisons: county leaders appoint more members if the county is larger, while the city mayor appoints more if the city is larger (with specific rules for counties over 400,000 population starting in 2027). It also mandates that merged libraries transfer all unspent funds and assets to the new board upon approval.

Maddy summaryHB 737 replaces four existing Missouri statutes with new provisions governing financial accountability for children in state custody. The bill directly affects children under the Children's Division, their parents, and financial representatives (like fiduciaries or payees) handling funds for these children. Key mechanisms require all money received for a child - such as benefits from Social Security or Veterans Administration - to be accounted for in the child’s name and used *only* for "unmet needs" like tutoring, transportation, housing preparation, or technology (not for foster care costs or general maintenance). The law also mandates annual reviews to identify new benefits and ensures the division only acts as a representative payee when no other suitable candidate exists.

Maddy summaryHB 594 replaces Missouri's tax calculation rules for individual income tax by adding specific items back to federal adjusted gross income. It directly affects Missouri residents filing state income tax returns by increasing taxable income for certain deductions, such as federal tax refunds related to pandemic credits (excluding specific pandemic relief), interest on certain government bonds, and business deductions like accelerated depreciation. The bill also modifies how net operating loss carryforwards and out-of-state property taxes are treated in state tax calculations. These changes adjust Missouri's taxable income upward for affected taxpayers without altering the state's tax rates.

Maddy summaryHB 419 establishes new rules to provide in-state tuition rates at Missouri public colleges and universities for military personnel and their families. It directly affects active-duty military members stationed in Missouri, their spouses, and unmarried children under 24 who enroll in eligible institutions. The bill deems military personnel serving in the Missouri National Guard or federal reserves as domiciled in Missouri for tuition purposes, requiring them to demonstrate physical presence in the state. It also specifies that this tuition benefit applies only after other federal or state aid is applied, ensuring no student receives more than the actual cost of attendance.

Maddy summaryHB 121 amends Missouri law to allow parents to safely leave newborns (up to 90 days old) in hospital or maternity home newborn safety incubators, rather than requiring them to go to a specific location. The bill defines "newborn safety incubator" as a medical device for infant care and specifies that parents using this option cannot be prosecuted for abandonment. It also guarantees parents' anonymity, prohibits staff from seeking identifying information, and restricts disclosure of parent details except to specific child welfare or legal personnel. This directly affects parents considering safe surrender, hospitals, maternity homes, and pregnancy resource centers.