HB 301 Vetoed by Gov. Nixon

Gov. Nixon vetoes bill that would have weakened laws on sexual offenders

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed House Bill 301, which would have reduced public safety and undermined victims’ rights by weakening state laws regarding sexual offenders.

“In removing an estimated 560 offenders from sexual offender websites, House Bill 301 makes no distinction between those who have committed extremely serious or violent crimes and those who committed lesser offenses,” Gov. Nixon said. “In addition to undermining the important public safety functions provided by the sexual offender registry and public notification websites, the bill also would have deprived victims of sex offenses the opportunity to be heard before an offender is removed.”

House Bill 301 would have prevented any individual who committed a sex offense as a juvenile (under 18) from being placed on either the state or county sexual offender notification website, and would have further required the immediate removal of an estimated 560 such sex offenders who are currently on the state and county sexual offender websites. This legislation would have removed these juvenile sex offenders regardless of the sexual offense for which they were convicted, including forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and child molestation. 

Read the Governor’s veto message on House Bill 301 here.