SECOND REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 1406

85TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES DIXON (Sponsor), SCHWAB, ELLIS, MONTGOMERY, HARPOOL, WEIL, WHITESIDE, ALTER, LITON, KAUFFMAN (46), AKIN, STAPONSKI, FROELKER, HAND, BANTON, SCOTT, MARSHALL (125), HALE, LEGAN, BROWNING, GANN, TOWNLEY, MATHEWS, BROCKFELD, WOODALL, KELLEY (48), OETTING, HOUSE, KELLEY (6), MACDONNELL, FIEBELMAN, CHILDERS, CASE, KASTEN, MITCHELL, LANG. ROHRBACH, DONOVAN, TALENT, ROSS, SELSOR AND MURPHY

Read 1st time January 11, 1990
DOUGLAS W. BURNETT, Chief Clerk

AN ACT relating to certain performances, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
 Section 1.
 1.
 No person shall sell or offer to sell in
 this state any audio recording, phonograph record,
 magnetic tape or compact disc, which contains lyrics
 descriptive of, advocating or encouraging sodomy, incest,
 beastiality, sadomasochism, adultery or any form of
 sexual conduct in a violent context, nudity, satanism,
 murder, morbid violence or the use of illegal drugs or
 alcohol, unless the cover of such material contains a
 parental warning label that the lyrics contain such
 violent messages and unless the lyrics are printed on
 the outside of the album cover of a phonograph record
 or are included inside the packaging of other media
 articles included in this section.

 2.
The label required in this section shall be placed
on the front cover of the audio recording, phonograph
 record, magnetic tape or compact disc.  Such labels shall
 not be readily removable and shall be printed with black
 letters of 12 point type or larger on a yellow florescent
 background, except that the words “WARNING” and
 “PARENTAL ADVISORY” shall be printed in letters
 which are 48 point type.  Labels for cassettes and compact
 discs shall be printed in 8 point type except that the words
 ”WARNING” and “PARENTAL ADVISORY” shall be
 in 10 point type.  The warning label shall read substan-
 tially as follows:
 
 WARNING:

May contain explicit lyrics descriptive of or advocating one or more of the following: 

Nudity
Satanism
Suicide
Sodomy
Incest
Beastiality
Sadomasochism
Adultery
Murder
Morbid violence
Or any deviate
Sexual conduct in a
Violent context,
Or the use of
illegal use of drugs
or alcohol.
PARENTAL 
ADVISORY

 All such labels shall be placed on the covers of such audio
 recordings, underneath any type of cellophane covering.

 3.
In addition to the labeling requirements of
 subsections 1 and 2 of this section, no audio recording,
 phonograph record, magnetic tape or compact disc may
 be displayed to the public in packaging using words,
 symbols or pictures portraying or descriptive of the acts
 prohibited in subsections 1 and 2 of this section unless
 such recordings are sealed in an opaque wrapping.

Section 2.
Displaying material in violation of section 2
of this act is a class A misdemeanor unless the person
has pleaded guilty to, or has been found guilty of an
offense under this section committed at a different time,
in which case it is a class D felony.

Section 3.
For purposes of this session each day and
each jacket, case or covering, audio recording, phone-
graph record, magnetic tape or compact disc found in
violation of subsections 1 and 2 section 1 of this act
shall constitute a separate offense.

Section 4.
1.
Any person who sells to a person under
the age of eighteen years in this state an audio recording,
 phonograph record, magnetic tape or compact disc, which
contains such lyrics as described in subsections 1 and
2 of section 1 of this act, shall upon request of the parent
of that person within ten days of such purchase, provide
a full refund of the purchase price if the parent or legal
guardian returns the undamaged audio recording,
regardless of whether the package containing the
recording is open or unopened.
 2.
Failure to refund moneys for items purchased in
 violation of this section is a class A misdemeanor.

Section 5.
A civil action for damages may be
maintained by any person who is injured by another
person who acted as a direct result of motivation derived
from listening to an audio recording described in section
1 of this act against the performers or producers of such
audio recordings as a contributory tortfeasor.  If the
injured party is a minor, the action may be brought by
a parent or legal guardian.  In the event of the death
of such victim, a wrongful death action may be
 maintained by a parent or legal guardian of the deceased,
 by a surviving spouse, or in behalf of any minor children.

Section 6.
1.
No promoter or performer, producer or
director shall allow any person under the age of eighteen
years to be present during any performance which
 presents, depicts, advertises, performs, distributes,
contains, advocates, describes or encourages any conduct
specified in subsections 1 and 2 of section 1 of this act.
 2.
Any violation of subsection 1 and 2 of this section is
 a class A misdemeanor unless the person has pleaded
 guilty to or has been found guilty of an offense under
 this section committed at a different time, in which case
 it is a class D felony.