The Missouri House Judiciary Committee held a public hearing Monday to discuss a bill that would address jury compensation.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, would give county commissions the ability to vote to restructure how jurors are compensated.
If a county chooses to restructure, the county gains the authority to not pay grand and petit jurors the first two days of service. Every day beyond that, Veit said, jurors would receive $50 and get seven cents per mile for necessary travel from the juror's two-way trip between their home and the courthouse.
Veit said the bill would also give county commissions the option to pay grand or petit on those first two days of service if they want, however, that pay cannot exceed $10 per day.
This bill originally applied to every county in Missouri except Greene County, but Viet said that has been amended. Greene County was excluded because it's already using this system, however, it did not have the ability to pay jurors for the first two days of service.
Now, it will. The bill was also amended to include St. Louis.
Patricia Churchill, Missouri Supreme Court government relations counsel, testified on behalf of the Judicial Conference of Missouri in support of the bill.
Churchill said the bill would give counties the option to compensate jurors in a more meaningful way for their participation in longer trials.
She said this kind of compensation is good for counties fiscally and leaves jurors feeling more satisfied. Most importantly, Churchill said, it leaves the decision up to the counties.
No one testified against the bill, and the committee adjourned.
The bill is not yet scheduled for further consideration. Viet said the bill will be included in a larger package of other "non-controversial" items.
HB 87: compensation of jurors
Sponsor: Rep. Rudy Veit
State Rep. Rudy Veit, R-Wardsville, presents HB 87 to the Missouri House Judiciary Committee. (Tim Bommel/Missouri House Communications photo)