Barely six hours after the state Senate voted 28-2 to send the proposed Criminal Code rewrite law to Gov. Jay Nixon, a Franklin County Sheriff's detective sent reporters an email raising questions about it.
"One of the most glaring oversights that we encountered was when a few simple phrases were left out of the Pseudoephedrine Control Act," Jason J. Grellner, past-president of the Missouri Narcotics Officers Association, wrote.
"It appears that drafters inadvertently left phrases out of (new Section) 579.060 which effect the punishment for Section 195.417."
Grellner said the apparently missing language could make it harder for law enforcement officers to prove a violation of the state laws limiting the sales of over-the-counter drugs that also are used for making methamphetamine.
The current law says "no person shall purchase, receive, or otherwise acquire..." pseudoephedrine over 3.6 grams in 24 hours or 9 grams in 30 days.
Grellner said that language was "completely removed from 579.060" in the new law, and his email - received by reporters after the final vote - urged the drafters to "review this document thoroughly prior to its full passage."
Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City and the Senate sponsor of the Criminal Code bill, told colleagues several times Thursday that a thorough review had been done before the House and Senate were asked to pass it Thursday.
"I know that it is a substantive piece of legislation," Justus said before the Senate's vote. "We are very comfortable with this bill."
Grellner's email suggests a mistake was made of the kind that Nixon has said could result from lawmakers trying to pass one large bill to revise the entire criminal code in one bill.
But the top members of both House and Senate Judiciary committees said Friday afternoon that Grellner's concern isn't as serious as it might sound - because no change actually occurred.
"Although they were not provided to us directly for comment and review, we have looked over the sections cited by Detective Grellner and consulted with research staff, the Missouri Bar, and prosecutors," Sens. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, and Justus and Reps. Stanley Cox, R-Sedalia, and Chris Kelly, D-Columbia, said in their emailed comments to all lawmakers, which also were copied to reporters.
"Those "few simple phrases' about which (Grellner) is concerned were not included in section 579.060. However, they continue to exist in subsections 2 and 3 of section 195.417."
They said the revised Criminal Code followed the original rewrite proposal from the Missouri Bar.
"In the beginning, members of the Missouri Bar Criminal Code Revision Subcommittee made the conscious decision to collect the criminal punishments related to violations of controlled substances law in a new chapter 579, within the Criminal Code itself," Dixon, Justus, Cox and Kelly wrote. "Provisions which were more regulatory in nature remained in chapter 195."
So they're still a part of state law, and still can result in a prosecutor filing charges.
Grellner's Thursday evening email said he's "always encouraged when the legislature joins with outside groups for thoughtful reviews of current statutes. The review of the Missouri Criminal Code is a section of Missouri law that has long needed to be updated."
And the lawmakers' email thanked Grellner and his Narcotics Officers Association colleagues for taking time to review the proposed law's 608 pages.
"Already, citizens across Missouri are reviewing the Revised Code and providing their input on the final product," the lawmakers wrote. "We are grateful that they are taking the work of the legislature seriously, and we welcome the attention."
They noted Grellner's email "had not been sent to any of the bill sponsors, and we received it only indirectly," but they didn't criticize Grellner for contacting reporters instead of the lawmakers.
"Many of you may know Detective Grellner from his legislative work relating to anti-meth laws," the Judiciary committees' leaders wrote. "He is a passionate and determined advocate for public safety."
The bill's main sponsors said they welcomed "sincere concerns, like those cited by Detective Grellner," even as the General Assembly has a final bill ready to be delivered to Nixon early next week.
"Even after three years of legislative review, and nearly a decade of work, we knew our duty to the citizens of Missouri dictated that we provide every safeguard necessary," the lawmakers said Friday afternoon.
"Detective Grellner's letter illustrates the prudence of following in the footsteps of the drafters of the original Criminal Code, by providing a two-year transition period before the Revised Criminal Code will take effect."
Although passed this week, Nixon will have 15 days after he gets the bill next week to review it and, then, sign or veto it.
If the governor signs it, or lawmakers override his veto of the proposed law, it won't go into effect until Jan. 1, 2017.
"This transition period exists to allow practitioners, our partners in law enforcement, and other participants in the criminal justice system the time necessary to update training, adjust computer systems and familiarize themselves with the new Code," the four lawmakers said in their email.
"We have maintained the webpage, originally created last year on the Senate website, to collect comments on the Revised Criminal Code (http://www.senate.mo.gov/CrimCode/CrimCode.aspx)."