MO SB21

Grants Missouri Supreme Court authority to permanently transfer judicial positions between circuits when vacancies occur, subject to constitutional minimum judge requirements and established rules and standards.

Defines "vacancy" as death, retirement, resignation, removal, impeachment, or failure to be retained of a circuit or associate circuit judge, explicitly excluding failure to win a partisan election.

Requires Supreme Court to consider five criteria when deciding whether to transfer a judicial position: judicial workload analysis, litigant access to courts, circuit population, judicial duties and travel time, and other relevant factors.

Fixes the total number of circuit and associate circuit judge positions as of August 28, 2013, and voids any Supreme Court order that would change this total unless authorized by law.

Grants Supreme Court transfer authority superseding and prevailing over 22 existing statutes that specify the number of judges in particular judicial circuits.