The Missouri Senate passed a bill Thursday that would impose tougher penalties on drivers who run stop signs, if they cause crashes resulting in injury or death.
The legislation would increase fines and require the suspension of driver's licenses in certain cases of failing to yield the right of way. The bill would set a minimum fine of $500 and raise the maximum to $1,000 instead of the current $200 for violations resulting in injuries. For serious injuries, there would be a new minimum fine of $1,000, and the maximum would rise to $3,000 from the current $500.
For violations resulting in fatalities, there were be a new minimum fine of $5,000, and the maximum would be raised to $10,000 from the current $1,000. The bill now goes to the House.
The Senate also passed a bill Thursday to require local elections authorities to phase out the use of some electronic voting machines.
Under the measure, Missouri voters could only use an electronic ballot machine that produces a paper trail of marked votes. The legislation allows other types of electronic voting machines currently in use to remain at polling places. But it prohibits local election authorities from replacing those machines because of a malfunction or wear and tear. The bill, passed with a 22-11 vote on Thursday, also declares the paper ballot as the official ballot of Missouri elections.
It is sponsored by Republican Sen. Brian Nieves, of Washington, and now heads to the House.
