Oh boy here we go

The language is about as clear as mud

Keep in mind that Representative Kevin Enlger is also the one who relentlessly filed Bills to turn Missouri state prisons into state run mental institutions so his Bill now is certainly no surprise and he will continue to file the Bill until it gets passed.

This is scary as hell.

This whole CC thing needs to go! Can't imagine how folks keep voting for this guy. Politics at it's ugliest.

Wow. Just wow. I guess I know where I won't be taking any vacations.

They can't / won't really pass this will they?!

And I hope IL Voices is advocating against this since so many IL residents pass back and forth into and out of St. Loius.

I wonder who pays for those psych evaluations

Ivy -- yes, they will inevitably pass the Bill and likely this time around because it fits nicely with the agenda that the legislators have in this state against any sex offender with a disability.

Nakohichi -- The person who is being evaluated has to pay the bill and they are not cheep either, around $300 to $500 for the evaluation.

Lilly -- Keep in mind that this state is very conservative and very much in favor of any law that is against the sex offenders.

Keep in mind that we also have a Bill currently in action in Missouri that seeks to amend the state Constitution to strip all sex offenders in this state of any right against state laws being applied to them retroactively and by ex post facto application.

Also, keep in mind that even though state law says the sex offender has a right to a speedy trial within ninety (90) days for a civil commitment hearing, sex offenders are kept in jail for up to two (2) years before they ever get a civil commitment trial. So no, state officials and judges don't give a damn about the rights of those detained for civil commitment evaluations and trials.

Did anyone actually read the bill, I think people are misunderstanding it. If your off paper and you simply visit or pass thru Missouri you CAN NOT be detained or evaluated for civil committment nor civily committed without having committed, as the bill calls it, a 'recent overt act'. ...

When the attorney general receives written notice from any law enforcement
agency that a person, who has pled guilty to or been convicted of a sexually violent offense and
who is not presently in the physical custody of an agency with jurisdiction HAS COMMITTED A RECENT OVERT ACT, the attorney general may file a petition for detention and evaluation with the
probate division of the court in which the person was convicted, or committed pursuant to
chapter 552, alleging the respondent may meet the definition of a sexually violent predator and
should be detained for evaluation for a period of up to nine days. If the person was convicted in another jurisdiction, the attorney general may file the petition for detention and
evaluation with the probate division of the court in the county where the overt act was
committed."

http://www.house.mo.gov/billsummary.aspx?bill=HB1741&year=2014&code=R

http://www.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills141/billpdf/intro/HB1741I.PDF

LG = 1/2 my family is in MO. I know that they are in the Bible Belt, but would also *hope* that they have compassion. These politicians and laws sure don't IMHO

TuKanSam, what you point out is the real danger of the bill because it does not define what constitutes a "real overt act" which leaves it open to non-legislative agencies to decide what a "real overt act" is for themselves. With that kind of language it doesn't have to be a new crime much less a conviction for a new crime. All that's required is that an individual have a conviction in another jurisdiction and commit what somebody considers an overt act to be subject to civil commitment proceedings. Once civil commitment proceedings start, there may never be an end to them and the person is stuck in MO

http://tinyurl.com/ob7myay

.

I haven't read the bill but I still question what its intent is -- another "feel good" law?

As TuKanSam pointed out it reads in part.....'a person convicted or found guilty of.... not presently in the physical custody....' if the person were in custody- he/she would not be in Missouri - Why the bill?

"Has committed a recent overt act"--- you mean committed another crime because any overt act would be deemed a criminal offense when it regards any sex offense. They would be arrested on new charges. Why the bill?

It the person is on probation or parole traveling in Missouri then any crime charged in Missouri would generally result in additional violation charges being filed in the original jurisdiction which placed him/her on probation.

Still sounds like just another bill to support re-election.

Actually yes, I did read the Bill and it is overly broad and ambiguous so as to leave to question whether or not the State can detain someone merely visiting in Missouri for a civil commitment evaluation. That is one of the issues this Bill presents.

Also, if you know anything about our current Governor, Attorney General, and Representative Engler, then you know they are overzealous to lock up anyone in prison and in civil commitment that has any sort of mental disability who commits a sex crime. So, I will not be surprised at all if this law, when it is enacted, targets those merely visiting in Missouri since they have to report their visiting.