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HB 1721

Creates provisions relating to reporting requirements of prosecuting attorneys

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Richard West

Missouri HB 1721 would require prosecuting offices to publish annual, non-identifiable data on intake, dispositions, and sentencing, and would create a statewide, public report com

Referred: Emerging Issues(H)
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Bill Summary · HB 1721

Overview

Missouri HB 1721 (2026) would establish statewide reporting requirements for prosecuting and circuit attorneys and create a centralized, public-facing statewide report compiled by the Attorney General. The bill aims to improve transparency around how offenses are handled by prosecuting offices and how cases proceed through to disposition and sentencing.

Purpose and intent

  • Improve transparency and public access to data on prosecutorial handling of cases.
  • Standardize the collection and reporting of offense-specific data across prosecuting and circuit attorney offices.
  • Provide the Governor and legislative leadership with a uniform, sortable statewide report to inform policy discussions and oversight.

Key provisions

New reporting requirements for prosecuting and circuit attorneys (Section 56.910)

  • Each prosecuting and circuit attorney's office must share an annual report by March 1st with:
    • The Governor
    • The Attorney General
  • The annual report must be publicly accessible upon request.
  • Content requirements (for the previous year), at a minimum, include aggregate, non-personally identifying data in categories of offense, covering: 1) Intake processes, including:
    • Number of arrests or referrals for each offense category
    • Among those:
      • Number accepted for prosecution
      • Number referred to a diversion program before charging
      • Number dismissed with a categorical description of why 2) Disposals for each offense category, including:
    • Number disposed through diversion programs
    • Adjudicated guilty by plea agreement (or dismissed due to guilty plea to a different charge)
    • Dismissed for prosecution by another authority
    • Dismissed due to suppression of evidence
    • Dismissed due to other legal defect
    • Dismissed due to witness noncooperation
    • Dismissed for other reasons
    • Adjudicated by trial to the court (number convicted)
    • Adjudicated by jury trial (number convicted) 3) Dispositions for each offense category, including:
    • Number sentenced to incarceration
    • Number sentenced to county jail (with average length)
    • Number sentenced to state correctional center (with average length)
    • Number sentenced to probation

New statewide report by the Attorney General (Section 27.120)

  • The Attorney General must compile a statewide report that aggregates information provided by each prosecuting and circuit attorney under Section 56.910.
  • The statewide report must be:
    • Uniform in format
    • Sortable by offense and jurisdiction
    • Available to the public
    • Submitted to the Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate
  • The Speaker and President Pro Tempore must distribute the statewide report to the chairs of the relevant committees (crime prevention/public safety for the House; judiciary and civil and criminal jurisprudence for the Senate).
  • Prosecuting and circuit attorneys must comply with requests from the Attorney General for additional, disaggregated or clarifying information to assist compilation.

Who is affected

  • All prosecuting and circuit attorney offices in Missouri (local and state-level prosecutors).
  • The Missouri Attorney General (responsible for compiling the statewide report).
  • The Governor, the Speaker of the House, and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate (receivers and disseminators of the statewide report).
  • The public (access to annual data reports upon request).

Timelines and procedural aspects

  • Annual reporting deadline: March 1 of each year (for the preceding year’s data).
  • Public availability: Reports must be accessible to the public upon request.
  • Data sharing: Local offices must provide aggregate, non-personally identifying data; the AG’s office compiles and formats a statewide, uniform report.

Potential impact and considerations

  • Increases transparency around prosecutorial decision-making, case processing, and sentencing outcomes.
  • Creates a standardized data framework that could facilitate policy analysis, accountability, and comparisons across jurisdictions.
  • Public data availability may raise considerations around privacy (data is required to be non-personally identifying) and the administrative burden on local offices to gather and categorize data consistently.
  • The bill builds on similar prior proposals (HB 1252 and SB 495 from 2025), indicating ongoing legislative interest in prosecutorial reporting standards.

Note: The bill text uses standard “explanation” conventions indicating enacted vs. non-enacted material; the proposal adds two new sections to Missouri Revised Statutes, chapters 27 and 56.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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