Rep. Marla Smith

Maddy summaryHB 3074 designates April 30th each year as William Lacy Clay, Sr. Day in Missouri. The bill honors William Lacy Clay Sr., who served Missouri's first congressional district from 1969 to 2001 and co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus. It encourages Missouri citizens to observe the day through events celebrating his life and legacy. As a commemorative resolution, the bill has no binding policy provisions or direct regulatory impact.

Maddy summaryHB 2832 creates a new "Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman" to independently monitor prison conditions and investigate inmate concerns. The office will track issues like sanitation, abuse, medical care access, and facility safety through annual facility inspections, data collection on incidents (e.g., suicides, assaults), and complaint investigations. It directly affects inmates by providing oversight of their living conditions and rights, and family members by improving access to visitation and communication. The ombudsman will issue public reports and recommendations to the corrections oversight committee, which includes formerly incarcerated individuals and family members. This bill establishes a concrete mechanism for accountability without altering prison funding or sentencing policies.

Maddy summaryHB 2831 modifies Missouri's good time credit system for inmates, allowing eligible individuals to earn time off their sentences by participating in approved programs. Inmates can earn up to 360 days total (capped at 90 days annually) for completing high school/GED equivalents, vocational training, alcohol/drug treatment (excluding court-ordered programs), or 1,000 hours of restorative justice. Credit is revoked for major rule violations, parole revocation, or excessive minor violations, and excludes those sentenced to death or life without parole. The bill also permits retroactive petitions for programs completed between 2010 and 2026, with applications accepted in 2027.

Maddy summaryHB 1957 repeals and replaces several Missouri election law sections with new provisions. It requires voter registration forms to be available in English, Spanish, and Braille, and clarifies that people confined in jail but not yet convicted of a crime may still vote. The bill maintains restrictions on voting for individuals imprisoned after a felony conviction, on probation/parole for a felony, or adjudged incapacitated. It also reinforces that voters must register before the deadline and may need to provide photo ID when voting for the first time after registering by mail. These changes directly affect Missouri voters, election authorities, and those with felony convictions or incarceration status.

Maddy summaryHB 2337 ensures that pregnancy does not prevent a court from granting a divorce (dissolution of marriage) or legal separation. The bill explicitly states that courts must consider pregnancy status when making decisions but cannot deny a judgment solely because a party is pregnant. It also requires divorce petitions to include the last four digits of Social Security numbers for all parties and children, and mandates courts to address custody, support, and property division. This directly affects individuals seeking divorce or legal separation while pregnant, removing a potential barrier to finalizing their cases.

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 442 creates a task force to standardize admission and financial aid letters for Missouri's public colleges and universities. The task force, composed of 15 members including students, parents, counselors, and college administrators, must develop uniform templates by January 1, 2026. These standardized letters must clearly list estimated costs, all aid types (with repayment details), graduation rates, and other key financial information. The bill directly affects all public institutions of higher education in Missouri, requiring them to adopt these consistent formats for student communications.

Maddy summaryHB 619, known as "Hannah's Law," requires children under age twelve to wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets while on watercraft in Missouri waters or swimming/wading in public waters deeper than three feet. The bill replaces Missouri’s previous law (Section 306.220) and imposes penalties: adults allowing children under twelve to be without a life jacket in these situations face a class C misdemeanor charge. Exceptions include when the child is in a fully enclosed part of a watercraft or supervised by a lifeguard. The law directly affects parents, guardians, and caregivers of children under twelve who use public waterways.

Maddy summaryHB 441 requires most employers in the state to provide employees with a 30-minute unpaid meal break during every 8-hour work shift, ensuring no employee works more than 5.5 hours without a break. It directly affects private-sector employers not covered by collective bargaining agreements or specific exemptions, such as small businesses (fewer than five employees on a shift), roles critical to public safety, or continuous operations requiring on-call staff. Violations carry fines starting at $300 per offense, increasing to a maximum of $1,200 per violation. The bill does not mandate paid breaks and includes limited exemptions for certain workplace circumstances.

Maddy summaryHB 1187 prohibits employers from firing, refusing to hire, or otherwise disadvantaging employees based solely on their credit history or credit score. The bill specifically targets employment decisions like pay, promotions, or hiring unless an employer can prove the credit information is directly, materially, and substantially related to the job duties or business operations. This law directly affects employees whose credit history might have been used against them in employment decisions and applies to all employers covered under the state's anti-discrimination laws. Employers must now justify using credit information as essential to the specific role, not as a routine screening tool.