# Missouri SB221: Modifies the standard of review for agency interpretation of statutes, rules, regulations, and subregulatory documents Missouri SB221, Modifies the standard of review for agency interpretation of statutes, rules, regulations, and subregulatory documents, is a 2025 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by Nick Schroer (Republican); status signed, last action 2025-07-10 (Delivered to Secretary of State (G)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-SB221-2025 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Missouri SB221 - State: Missouri - Session: 2025 Regular Session - Title: Modifies the standard of review for agency interpretation of statutes, rules, regulations, and subregulatory documents - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-03-06 - Last action: 2025-07-10, Delivered to Secretary of State (G) - Sponsor: Nick Schroer (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (28 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 31 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More privacy for court workers: benefit, medium. Judicial privacy protections now cover court clerks, administrators, juvenile officers, and other covered court workers and their immediate families. After a valid written request, agencies must remove covered personal information from public content within five business days. Covered people and bu… - State pays more court interpreter costs: benefit, medium. Missouri pays reasonable, court-approved interpreter or translator fees for parties and witnesses, not just in criminal proceedings. The state also pays necessary travel expenses within state travel rates. Interpreter travel time is not paid. - Stronger emergency protection for children: benefit, medium. A verified petition can support an emergency protection order for immediate danger involving a child’s pet, stalking, or child sexual assault. When the court issues that order, it must appoint a guardian ad litem or court-appointed special advocate. The court can also order Children’s Division serv… - Families can shield deceased relatives’ records: benefit, low. Eligible family members or personal representatives can ask courts to make a deceased person’s misdemeanor conviction record confidential. This applies to records in the automated court case system after at least six months since death. The request must include a death certificate. The court must g… - More driving options after treatment: benefit, low. People completing the specified long-term corrections treatment program can ask their sentencing court for limited driving privileges. People successfully completing the specified 120-day institutional treatment program can also petition for limited driving privileges. Qualifying adult treatment co… - More electronic options for estate documents: benefit, low. The law recognizes electronic estate documents, including powers of attorney, health care declarations, trusts, beneficiary deeds, and nonprobate transfers. Documents can use attached counterparts, and required witnesses can join electronically for documents other than wills. Certified paper copies… - New protection-order rules for minors: benefit, low. For protection orders, the law raises the adult age from 17 to 18; emancipated people still count as adults. For respondents under 18 who are not emancipated, papers must reach a custodial parent, guardian, or appointed court guardian. When an emergency order is entered against a minor respondent,… - Spouses can demand income-producing trust assets: benefit, low. A spouse with a mandatory right to trust income can require action when assets do not support the marital tax deduction. The trust must hold property for which a gift or estate tax marital deduction was allowed. The trustee can make property earn income, convert it to income-producing property with… - Some cities gain police oversight options: benefit, low. Cities with more than 125,000 but fewer than 160,000 residents are exempt from specified limits on civilian police oversight. They can create a civilian group to receive and investigate public complaints, make findings, and recommend discipline. The law allows these groups but does not require citi… - Some beneficiaries must repay estate taxes: cost, low. A fiduciary must charge beneficiaries who gain income-tax savings when a deduction choice raises estate taxes paid from principal. This applies when deducting a principal payment for income taxes reduces the estate’s marital or charitable deduction. Repayment equals the related estate-tax increase,… - Compensation judges face new pay limits: mixed, medium. Missouri workers’ compensation judges’ pay is set solely by the law’s specified rates. Their pay does not rise automatically when lawmakers fund raises for executive employees. An administrative law judge in charge receives the judge’s rate plus $5,000. - Retirement coverage changes for compensation officials: mixed, medium. Retirement rules include legal advisors and associate administrative law judges appointed or employed under sections 287.600 or 287.615. Personnel appointed or employed under section 287.616 no longer fall within this covered definition. The law also removes the benefit ban for officials removed by… - Changed deadlines for trust beneficiary claims: mixed, low. The law removes special two-year deadlines for claims about unfair trustee adjustments between income and principal. Other claim deadlines still matter. When the one-year deadline after an adequately disclosing report does not apply, a five-year period runs from specified events. Those events inclu… - Electronic wills gain recognition and safeguards: mixed, low. Beginning August 28, 2025, Missouri recognizes electronic wills that remain readable and accessible, with required signing and two witnesses. Witnesses can attend physically or electronically; qualifying wills made under another jurisdiction’s law are also recognized. Courts can order account custo… - New options and limits for trust payouts: mixed, low. Beginning August 28, 2025, default unitrust rules cover existing and new trusts and estates, subject to trust-term and federal-tax exclusions. A unitrust bases income payments on a percentage of trust value. Fiduciaries can adopt, change, or end this approach without court approval to support fair… - Trust accounting can shift beneficiary payments: mixed, low. Trust managers must allocate receipts from financial arrangements not otherwise covered using the law’s allocation standards. They can move money between income and principal—the assets held for later—to repay listed expenses. They can also reserve income for future principal costs, including impro… - Trust beneficiaries gain notice, face limits: mixed, low. Trustees must notify qualified beneficiaries at least 60 days before starting a transfer of the trust’s main place of administration. The notice must warn that the move may change governing law and beneficiaries’ rights. Courts can change covered trust decisions only after finding an abuse of discr… - Clearer estate income shares for heirs: mixed, low. After a death creates an estate or trust, or an income interest ends, fiduciaries must account for receipts and costs. Receipts tied to specifically given property go to that property’s recipient, and expenses, taxes, and required interest follow allocation rules. Covered beneficiaries share remain… - Default formulas shape trust beneficiary payments: mixed, low. A covered small allocation can go entirely to principal, subject to adjustment-power limits. It is presumed small only when both its net-income effect and the asset’s share of total value are below 10%. Separate-fund payments count as income up to internal income; when that income is unknown, the d… - New accounting rules for trust beneficiaries: mixed, low. Beginning August 28, 2025, the new trust accounting framework covers existing and new trusts and estates, unless their terms provide otherwise. Missouri’s rules generally apply when administration is based there, or covered life-interest or term-interest property is located there. Trustees accept t… - New splits for trust investment receipts: mixed, low. Business cash payouts generally count as income; capital payouts and ownership-reducing payouts go to principal, with listed investment exceptions. Fiduciaries can generally rely on business labels unless they know of possible errors or hold more than 50% of voting power. Payments from another trus… - Trust adjustment powers have new limits: mixed, low. Fiduciaries need not consider or use income-and-principal adjustments, and good-faith choices do not create liability. Adjustments cannot change fixed beneficiary payments or cause listed losses of tax benefits, charitable amounts, or public-benefit eligibility. Nonindependent fiduciaries and trust… - Trust fees and costs get divided: mixed, low. Trust income generally pays half of regular trustee and investment-service fees when enough income is available, subject to statutory exceptions. Ordinary income-related costs and specified insurance also come from income; an independent fiduciary can assign more covered costs there. Principal pays… - Trust income follows start and end dates: mixed, low. Trust terms set income start dates; otherwise, income rights generally start when property enters the trust or a successive interest begins. Lifetime transfers use the transfer date, death transfers use the death date, and successive interests start after the prior interest ends. Periodic items due… - Trust investment contracts get percentage splits: mixed, low. For derivatives accounted for as a business, 10% of receipts and related payments count as income; the rest is principal. Covered options requiring asset delivery use the same 10% income split for option payments and related gains or losses. For asset-backed securities, identified interest or curre… - Trust resource payments follow new splits: mixed, low. Natural-resource rent, specified interest, and renewable-water receipts count as income; other listed receipts go to principal or receive a fair split. A resource split is presumed fair when principal receives the federal depletion-deduction amount. Timber receipts count as income only up to timber… - Trust taxes follow income and principal: mixed, low. Taxes based on trust income receipts come from income; taxes based on principal receipts come from principal. Taxes on a trust’s share of business income are split based on receipts assigned to each account. Any tax exceeding those receipts comes from principal, subject to the listed allocation exc… - Business members gain court dissolution grounds: mixed, low. A limited liability company member can ask the circuit court where its registered office is located to dissolve the business. The court must find at least one legal ground, such as deadlock, abandonment, or substantially impaired operations. Grounds also include protecting member interests, inabili… - Court outcomes required for abuse registry: mixed, low. Missouri’s child abuse and neglect registry now requires a court finding substantiating abuse or neglect. A guilty plea or conviction for a listed offense also supports placement. A Children’s Division finding based only on probable cause or a preponderance of evidence no longer supports placement. - New discipline process for compensation judges: mixed, low. Workers’ compensation judges receive written reasons before the division director files a disciplinary complaint. For willful neglect or incompetence, judges get 90 days from the complaint date to fix the conduct before filing. The Administrative Hearing Commission hears these cases and makes factu… - Cemetery care trusts face payout limits: mixed, low. Endowed-care cemetery trust agreements cannot set a yearly percentage payout rate above 5%. Changing the rate requires an amendment, and principal payouts cannot exceed the agreement’s percentage-based amount. Income not distributed within 60 days after the trust’s fiscal year ends must be added to… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Nick Schroer (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-05-14 | House | Reported Do Pass | pass | 7 | 0 | | | 2025-05-09 | House | Reported Do Pass | pass | 8 | 0 | | | 2025-04-22 | House | HCS Reported Do Pass | pass | 13 | 0 | | ## Actions (24) - 2025-07-10: Delivered to Secretary of State (G) - 2025-07-10: Approved by Governor (G) - 2025-05-30: Delivered to Governor - 2025-05-29: Signed by House Speaker (House) - 2025-05-22: House Message (House) - 2025-05-15: Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed - 2025-05-15: Title of Bill - Agreed To - 2025-05-15: HCS Defeated (House) - 2025-05-15: Taken Up for Third Reading (House) - 2025-05-14: Reported Do Pass - AYES: 7 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0 (House) - 2025-05-14: Voted Do Pass (House) - 2025-05-14: Executive Session Completed (House) - 2025-05-13: Referred: Fiscal Review (House) - 2025-05-09: Reported Do Pass - AYES: 8 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0 (House) - 2025-05-09: Voted Do Pass (House) - 2025-05-09: Executive Session Completed (House) - 2025-05-05: Referred: Rules - Legislative (House) - 2025-04-22: HCS Reported Do Pass - AYES: 13 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0 (House) - 2025-04-16: HCS Voted Do Pass (House) - 2025-04-16: Executive Session Completed (House) - 2025-04-02: Public Hearing Completed (House) - 2025-03-19: Referred: Judiciary (House) - 2025-03-10: Read Second Time (House) - 2025-03-06: Reported to the House and First Read (House) ## Bill text - Committee Substitute: [PDF](https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/0882H.06C.pdf) ## Related bills - HB3: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (signed) - HB8: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Public Safety and the Department of National Guard (signed) - HB11: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Social Services (signed) - HB10: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Health and Senior Services, and t… (signed) - SB79: Modifies provisions relating to health care (signed) - SB271: Modifies provisions relating to emergency services (signed) ## Sources - [Committee Substitute (PDF)](https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills251/hlrbillspdf/0882H.06C.pdf) ## Related - [HB3: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-HB3-2025) - [HB8: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-HB8-2025) - [HB11: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-HB11-2025) - [HB10: Appropriates money for the expenses, grants, refunds, and distributions of the…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-HB10-2025) - [SB79: Modifies provisions relating to health care](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-SB79-2025) - [SB271: Modifies provisions relating to emergency services](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-SB271-2025) - [Missouri bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/missouri/bills) - [Missouri state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/missouri) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MO-SB221-2025 (as of 2026-10-17).