Modifies the offense of abuse of elderly, disabled, or vulnerable persons

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Modifies the offense of abuse of elderly, disabled, or vulnerable persons

The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Senate Committee Substitute Print SCS/SB 910 - This act modifies the current offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person.

What This Bill Does

• The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Senate Committee Substitute Print SCS/SB 910 - This act modifies the current offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person.
• Under this act, a person shall commit the offense if he or she: (1) purposely engages in more than one incident in which purposeful and unreasonable conduct causes emotional distress and a reasonable person would know that such conduct would cause a reasonable elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person to suffer substantial emotion distress; (2) intentionally fails to provide reasonable care, goods, or services that would cause a reasonable elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person to suffer actual physical or emotional distress; or (3) knowingly acts or fails to act in a manner that results in a grave risk to the life, body, or health of an elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person.
• Under current law, this offense is a class A misdemeanor.
• Under this act, the offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person is a class E felony.

Limits and Unknowns

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Official Summary Text

The following summaries of this bill are available:

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Senate Committee Substitute

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SCS/SB 910 - This act modifies the current offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person. Under this act, a person shall commit the offense if he or she: (1) purposely engages in more than one incident in which purposeful and unreasonable conduct causes emotional distress and a reasonable person would know that such conduct would cause a reasonable elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person to suffer substantial emotion distress; (2) intentionally fails to provide reasonable care, goods, or services that would cause a reasonable elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person to suffer actual physical or emotional distress; or (3) knowingly acts or fails to act in a manner that results in a grave risk to the life, body, or health of an elderly, disabled, or vulnerable person.

Under current law, this offense is a class A misdemeanor. Under this act, the offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person is a class E felony.
SARAH HASKINS

Introduced

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SB 910 - This act requires long-term care facilities to maintain liability insurance coverage in a minimum amount of $1 million dollars to insure against losses from the negligent or criminal acts of the facility constituting abuse, neglect, or wrongful death of any resident, except as otherwise provided in the act.

This provision is substantially similar to a provision in SB 164 (2025) and HB 2519 (2024).

This act requires the Department of Health and Senior Services to display an abuse and neglect icon next to the informational listing on its website of any long-term care facility that has a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect, as described in the act.

Additionally, the Department shall provide the results of any substantiated report of a facility resident's abuse or neglect to the General Assembly and the Lieutenant Governor, consistent with existing requirements for providing access to abuse and neglect complaints and results of investigations.

Currently, the offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person is a class A misdemeanor. This act creates an enhanced penalty of a class E felony when the person committing the offense is a care provider and he or she knowingly acts or knowingly fails to act in a manner that creates a substantial risk to the life, body, or health of an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a vulnerable person.

This provision is identical to a provision in SB 164 (2025) and substantially similar to HB 1710 (2024).
SARAH HASKINS

Current Bill Text

5155S.03C
1
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 910
AN ACT
To repeal section 565.184, RSMo, and to enact in lieu
thereof one new section relating to the abuse or
neglect of certain persons, with penalty provisions.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 565.184, RSMo, is repealed and one new
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 565.184,
to read as follows:
565.184. 1. A person commits the offense of abuse of
an elderly person, a person with a disability, or a
vulnerable person if he or she:
(1) Purposely engages in [conduct involving] more than
one incident in which purposeful and unreasonable conduct
[that] causes emotional distress to an elderly person, a
person with a disability, or a vulnerable person. The
course of conduct shall be such as a reasonable person would
know that such conduct would cause a reasonable elderly
person, person with a disability, or vulnerable person to
suffer substantial emotional distress; or
(2) Intentionally fails to provide reasonable care,
goods, or services to an elderly person, a person with a
disability, or a vulnerable person. The result of the
conduct shall be such as would cause a reasonable elderly
person, person with a disability, or vulnerable person to
suffer actual physical or emotional distress; or
(3) Knowingly acts or knowingly fails to act in a
manner which results in a [substantial] grave risk to the
life, body, or health of an elderly person, a person with a
disability, or a vulnerable person. For the purposes of

2
this section, "grave risk" shall mean immediate, serious, or
life-threatening situations where an individual faces a high
likelihood of death, severe bodily injury, or profound,
lasting impairment to their physical or mental health.
2. The offense of abuse of an elderly person, a person
with a disability, or a vulnerable person is a class [A
misdemeanor] E felony. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to mean that an elderly person, a person with a
disability, or a vulnerable person is abused solely because
such person chooses to rely on spiritual means through
prayer, in lieu of medical care, for his or her health care,
as evidence by such person's explicit consent, advance
directive for health care, or practice.