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Missouri Senate Bill 945 modifies circuit court filing surcharges and repeals outdated county fees
Original title: Modifies provisions relating to court operations
Last action · May 14, 2026: HCS Voted Do Pass H Rules - LegislativeSponsor: Karla May
Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate Bill 945 repeals an expired statutory provision allowing certain first-classification counties to impose an additional ten-dollar court filing fee and updates court statutes. The measure regulates civil case filing deposits required by circuit court judges across Missouri.
Why it matters
Changes the legal framework governing civil filing fees in circuit courts by removing an expired county-specific provision, directly impacting court administration and litigants filing civil lawsuits.
Background
- Senate Bill 945 was introduced during the 2026 Second Regular Session of the 103rd General Assembly of Missouri. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Directly affected
circuit court litigants
Litigants filing civil cases in circuit court are subject to court filing surcharges as required by circuit judges.
Directly affected
circuit courts
Circuit courts retain the authority to require and set filing surcharges up to statutory caps.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Senate Bill 945 change regarding court fees?
The bill updates circuit court filing provisions and removes an expired statutory subsection that previously allowed certain counties to charge an extra ten-dollar fee.
Are all civil court filings subject to these surcharges?
No, proceedings where court costs are waived or are paid by the county, state, or any city are exempt from these s.
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently passed chamber. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Law.
Procedural history
17 actions- May 14, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Voted Do Pass H Rules - Legislative
- May 12, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred H Rules - Legislative
- Apr 16, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Reported Do Pass H Corrections and Public Institutions
- Apr 15, 2026HouseCommitteeHCS Voted Do Pass H Corrections and Public Institutions
- Apr 8, 2026HouseHearing Conducted H Corrections and Public Institutions
- Apr 2, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred H Corrections and Public Institutions
Show 11 earlier actions
- Mar 26, 2026HouseFloorH Second Read
- Mar 25, 2026SenateFloorS Third Read and Passed
- Mar 25, 2026HouseIntroducedH First Read
- Mar 24, 2026SenatePerfected
- Mar 24, 2026SenateReported Truly Perfected S Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee
- Mar 9, 2026SenateReported from S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Feb 18, 2026SenateCommitteeVoted Do Pass S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Feb 4, 2026SenateHearing Conducted S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Jan 8, 2026SenateFloorSecond Read and Referred S Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee
- Jan 7, 2026SenateIntroducedS First Read
- Dec 1, 2025SenatePrefiled
Version history & redline
3 versions on fileComparing 4883H.06C - House Committee Substitute → 4883S.01P - Perfected
removed addedOfficial text
removed: SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 945
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
4883H.06C JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
To repeal sections 57.540, 476.055, 478.003, 478.385, 478.387, 478.550, 478.600, 478.630,
478.700, 478.705, 483.082, 487.020, 488.012, 488.027, 488.426, and 509.520, RSMo,
and to enact in lieu thereof eighteen new sections relating to court operations.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 57.540, 476.055, 478.003, 478.385, 478.387, 478.550, 478.600,
2 478.630, 478.700, 478.705, 483.082, 487.020, 488.012, 488.027, 488.426, and 509.520,
3 RSMo, are repealed and eighteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as
4 sections 57.540, 476.055, 478.003, 478.385, 478.387, 478.550, 478.600, 478.630, 478.700,
5 478.705, 483.005, 483.082, 487.020, 488.012, 488.027, 488.426, 509.520, and 610.144, to
6 read as follows:
57.540. 1. The sheriff of the City of St. Louis may employ an attorney at law to aid
2 and advise him in the discharge of his duties and to represent him in court[, which said
3 attorney shall be known as "sheriff's attorney", and who shall receive as compensation for his
4 services as such sheriff's attorney a sum of not less than three thousand dollars and not more
5 than fifteen thousand dollars per annum, payable in semimonthly installments]. The sheriff
6 shall set the compensation for an attorney hired pursuant to this section and such
7 compensation shall be paid out of the same funds and revenue as the sheriff of such city is
8 paid.
9 2. The attorney employed by a sheriff pursuant to subsection 1 of this section
10 shall be employed at the pleasure of the sheriff.
476.055. 1. There is hereby established in the state treasury the "Statewide Court
2 Automation Fund". All moneys collected pursuant to section 488.027, as well as gifts,
3 contributions, devises, bequests, and grants received relating to statewide court automation
EXPLANATION — Matter 39,519 more removed characters - read the previous versionadded: EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
SENATE BILL NO. 945
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR MAY.
4883S.01P KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 488.426, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to court
filing surcharges.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 488.426, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 488.426, to read as follows: 488.426. 1. The judges of the circuit court, en banc, in any circuit in this state may require any party filing a civil case in the circuit court, at the time of filing the suit, to deposit with the clerk of the court a surcharge in addition to all other deposits required by law or court rule. Sections 488.426 to 488.432 shall not apply to proceedings when costs are waived or are to be paid by the county or state or any city. 2. The surcharge in effect on August 28, 2001, shall remain in effect until changed by the circuit court. The circuit court in any circuit, except the circuit court in Jackson County, the circuit court in the city of St. Louis, or the circuit court in any circuit that reimburses the state for the salaries of family court commissioners under and pursuant to section 487.020, may change the fee to any amount not to exceed fifteen dollars. The circuit court in Jackson County, the circuit court in the city of St. Louis, or the circuit court in any circuit that reimburses the state for the salaries of family court commissioners under and pursuant to section 487.020 may change the fee to any amount not to exceed twenty dollars. A change in the fee shall become effective and remain in effect until further changed. 3. Sections 488.426 to 488.432 shall not apply to proceedings when costs are waived or are paid by the county or state or any city. [4. In addition to any fee authorized by subsection 1 of this section, any county of the first classification with more than one hundred one thousand but fewer than one hundred fifteen thousand inhabitants may impose an additional fee of ten dollars excluding cases concerning adoption and those in small claims court. The provisions of this subsection shall expire on December 31, 2019.]
Redline computed from the official version text (record lane).View this version →
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
Open source document
www.senate.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance35How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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