By BRENT MARTINSt. Joseph PostPerhaps this time, it will actually become law.Max's Law is once again on the governor's desk.State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer of Parkville has hope that this year will be the year."This is the third year now that I've sponsored Max's Law," Luetkemeyer tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.Luetkemeyer first carried the legislation in the session following the death of K-9 Max. The St. Jospeh police dog was shot and killed by a suspect he was chasing June 21st of 2021. It was discovered after the death that under Missouri law the killing of a police animal was no more significant than a property crime.Luetkemeyer sought to change that."What Max's Law does is it raises the offense of killing a law enforcement canine to a felony offense so that somebody who does that they can actually spend time in prison," Luetkemeyer says.In the 2022 Missouri legislative session, the anti-crime measure that included Max's Law ran out of time on the last day of the session.In the 2023 Missouri legislative session, the anti-crime package cleared the legislature only to be vetoed by Gov. Mike Parson on an unrelated manner.In the just concluded, 2024 session the anti-crime bill once again passed the legislature and once again sits on Gov. Parson's desk.Luetkemeyer says he made sure this year to remove the provisions that prompted the veto last year. A memorial was held for K-9 Max at St. Joseph City Hall/file photo "The provisions that are left in the legislation from this year, those are all things that in the governor's veto letter last year he said he wished the General Assembly would send back to him and put back on his desk and Max's Law was one of those things," Luetkemeyer says.Luetkemeyer says getting the bill through the legislative session honors both the memory of Max and the St. Joseph police officer assigned to Max."I got to have a call with Max's handler, Lucas Winder, who is still a police officer with the St. Joseph Police Department. He's come down the last several years to testify in support of the legislation. So just a great day of celebration with Lucas who has been through a lot, obviously," Luetkemeyer says. "Happy that we were able to, A, get this bill in place to protect our police canines, but also to memorialize Max."You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.