Provides for the family court commissioner of the 7th Judicial Circuit to be compensated by the state without reimbursement

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1717
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NURRENBERN.
7374S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 487.020, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to the
appointment of family court commissioners.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 487.020, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 487.020, 2
to read as follows:3
487.020. 1. In each circuit or a county having a 1
family court, a majority of the circuit and associate 2
circuit judges en banc, in the circuit, may appoint 3
commissioners, subject to appropriations, to hear family 4
court cases and make findings as provided for in sections 5
487.010 to 487.190. Any person serving as a commissioner of 6
the juvenile division of the circuit court on August 28, 7
1993, shall become a commissioner of the family court. In 8
each circuit or a county therein having a family court, a 9
majority of the circuit and associate circuit judges en banc 10
may appoint, in addition to those commissioners serving as 11
commissioners of the juvenile division and becoming 12
commissioners of the family court pursuant to the provisions 13
of sections 487.020 to 487.040, no more than three 14
additional commissioners to hear family court cases and make 15
findings and recommendations as provided in sections 487.010 16
to 487.190. The number of additional commissioners added as 17
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a result of the provisions of sections 487.010 to 487.190 18
may be appointed only to the extent that the state is 19
reimbursed for the salaries of the commissioners as provided 20
in sections 487.010 to 487.190 or by federal or county funds 21
or by gifts or grants made for such purposes. A 22
commissioner shall be appointed for a term of four years. 23
Commissioners appointed pursuant to sections 487.020 to 24
487.040 shall serve in addition to circuit judges, associate 25
circuit court judges and commissioners authorized to hear 26
actions classified under section 487.080. 27
2. The circuit courts in the seventh judicial circuit, 28
eleventh judicial circuit, the thirteenth judicial circuit, 29
and the thirty-first judicial circuit may, in substitution 30
of each family court commissioner currently appointed 31
pursuant to this section whose salary is reimbursable, 32
appoint a family court commissioner whose compensation shall 33
be payable by the state without necessity of reimbursement. 34
The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed to 35
allow appointment of a family court commissioner in the 36
eleventh judicial circuit in addition to the number of such 37
family court commissioners holding office in the eleventh 38
judicial circuit as of January 1, 1999. The provisions of 39
this subsection shall not be construed to allow appointment 40
of a family court commissioner in the thirteenth judicial 41
circuit or the thirty-first judicial circuit in addition to 42
the number of such family court commissioners holding office 43
in such circuits as of January 1, 2013. The provisions of 44
this subsection shall not be construed to allow appointment 45
of a family court commissioner in the seventh judicial 46
circuit in addition to the number of such family court 47
commissioners holding office in the seventh judicial circuit 48
as of January 1, 2027. The appointment of the state-paid 49
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commissioner shall be subject to appropriations for such 50
purpose. 51
3. Each commissioner of the family court shall possess 52
the same qualifications as a circuit judge. The 53
compensation and retirement benefits of each commissioner 54
shall be the same as that of an associate circuit judge, 55
payable in the same manner and from the same source as that 56
of an associate circuit judge. 57
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