Possession of child pornography becomes a felony on Saturday. At present, child porn possession is only a misdemeanor. Representative Mark Bruns of Jefferson City sponsors the bill that makes possession a felony and he says a child porn case in Jefferson City this week brings home the importance of the change. Bruns says state law simply wasn’t tough enough. He notes state law didn’t even recognize possession of child porn as a crime until the late 1980s. As a misdemeanor, child porn too often took a back seat to felonies for police departments and prosecutors with heavy workloads. Bruns hopes that change makes a big impact, but he says there still is work to do. The law also requires sex offenders to complete an offender program. It also prohibits sex offenders from living near a school or childcare facility.