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FIRST REGULAR SESSION
[TRULY AGREED TO AND FINALLY PASSED]
SENATE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NOS. 145 & 59
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
0310S.04T 2025
AN ACT
To repeal sections 476.1300, 476.1302, 476.1304, 476.1306, 476.1308, 476.1310, 476.1313,
610.021, and 610.026, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof nine new sections relating to
the disclosure of certain records.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 476.1300, 476.1302, 476.1304, 476.1306, 476.1308, 476.1310,
2 476.1313, 610.021, and 610.026, RSMo, are repealed and nine new sections enacted in lieu
3 thereof, to be known as sections 476.1300, 476.1302, 476.1304, 476.1306, 476.1308,
4 476.1310, 476.1313, 610.021, and 610.026, to read as follows:
476.1300. 1. Sections 476.1300 to [476.1310] 476.1313 shall be known and may be
2 cited as the "Judicial Privacy Act".
3 2. As used in sections 476.1300 to [476.1310] 476.1313, the following terms mean:
4 (1) "Court-related officer", an actively employed, a formerly employed, or a
5 retired:
6 (a) Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States;
7 (b) Judge of the United States Court of Appeals;
8 (c) Judge or magistrate judge of the United States District Courts;
9 (d) Judge of the United States Bankruptcy Court;
10 (e) Judge of the Missouri supreme court;
11 (f) Judge of the Missouri court of appeals;
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 2
12 (g) Judge or commissioner of the Missouri circuit courts, including all of the
13 divisions of a circuit court;
14 (h) Prosecuting or circuit attorney, or any employee of a prosecuting or circuit
15 attorney;
16 (i) Circuit clerk, court administrator, deputy circuit clerk, division clerk, or
17 municipal clerk; or
18 (j) Juvenile officer or chief deputy juvenile officer;
19 (2) "Government agency", all agencies, authorities, boards, commissions,
20 departments, institutions, offices, and any other bodies politic and corporate of the state
21 created by the constitution or statute, whether in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch;
22 all units and corporate outgrowths created by executive order of the governor or any
23 constitutional officer, by the supreme court, or by resolution of the general assembly;
24 agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other
25 bodies politic and corporate of a political subdivision, including school districts; and any
26 public governmental body as that term is defined in section 610.010;
27 [(2)] (3) "Home address", a [judicial] court-related officer's permanent residence and
28 any secondary residences affirmatively identified by the [judicial] court-related officer, but
29 does not include a [judicial] court-related officer's work address;
30 [(3)] (4) "Immediate family", a [judicial] court-related officer's spouse, child,
31 adoptive child, foster child, parent, or any unmarried companion of the [judicial] court-
32 related officer or other familial relative of the [judicial] court-related officer or the [judicial]
33 court-related officer's spouse who lives in the same residence;
34 [(4) "Judicial officer", actively employed, formerly employed, or retired:
35 (a) Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States;
36 (b) Judges of the United States Court of Appeals;
37 (c) Judges and magistrate judges of the United States District Courts;
38 (d) Judges of the United States Bankruptcy Court;
39 (e) Judges of the Missouri supreme court;
40 (f) Judges of the Missouri court of appeals;
41 (g) Judges and commissioners of the Missouri circuit courts, including of the
42 divisions of a circuit court; and
43 (h) Prosecuting or circuit attorney, or assistant prosecuting or circuit attorney;]
44 (5) "Personal information", a home address, home telephone number, mobile
45 telephone number, pager number, personal email address, Social Security number, federal tax
46 identification number, checking and savings account numbers, credit card numbers, marital
47 status, and identity of children under eighteen years of age;
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 3
48 (6) "Publicly available content", any written, printed, or electronic document or
49 record that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained,
50 controlled, or in the possession of a government agency that may be obtained by any person
51 or entity, from the internet, from the government agency upon request either free of charge or
52 for a fee, or in response to a request pursuant to chapter 610 or the federal Freedom of
53 Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552, as amended;
54 (7) "Publicly post or display", to communicate to another or to otherwise make
55 available to the general public;
56 (8) "Written request", written or electronic notice signed by:
57 (a) A state [judicial] court-related officer and submitted to the clerk of the Missouri
58 supreme court or the clerk's designee; or
59 (b) A federal [judicial] court-related officer and submitted to that [judicial] court-
60 related officer's clerk of the court or the clerk's designee;
61
62 that is transmitted by the applicable clerk to a government agency, person, business, or
63 association [to request such government agency, person, business, or association refrain from
64 posting or displaying publicly available content that includes the judicial officer's personal
65 information].
476.1302. 1. A government agency shall not publicly post or display publicly
2 available content that includes a [judicial] court-related officer's personal information,
3 provided that the government agency has received a written request that the agency refrain
4 from disclosing the [judicial] court-related officer's personal information. After a
5 government agency has received a written request, the government agency shall remove
6 the [judicial] court-related officer's personal information from publicly available content
7 within five business days. After the government agency has removed the [judicial] court-
8 related officer's personal information from publicly available content, the government
9 agency shall not publicly post or display the [judicial] court-related officer's personal
10 information and the [judicial] court-related officer's personal information shall be exempted
11 from the provisions of chapter 610, unless the government agency has received a written
12 [consent from the judicial officer] request to make the personal information available to the
13 public.
14 2. If a government agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from
15 disclosing personal information, the [judicial] court-related officer may bring an action
16 seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If the court
17 grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the court may award costs and reasonable attorney's
18 fees to the [judicial] court-related officer.
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19 3. The provisions of [subsection 1 of] this section shall not apply to any government
20 agency created under section 43.020 or to a court-related officer's personal information
21 present in records of proceedings of any court of this state contained within any
22 statewide court automation system, which shall be governed by rules promulgated by
23 the Missouri supreme court.
476.1304. 1. No person, business, or association shall publicly post or display on the
2 internet publicly available content that includes a [judicial] court-related officer's personal
3 information, provided that the [judicial officer has made a written request to the] person,
4 business, or association has received a written request that it refrain from disclosing the
5 personal information.
6 2. No person, business, or association shall solicit, sell, or trade on the internet a
7 [judicial] court-related officer's personal information for purposes of tampering with a
8 [judicial] court-related officer in violation of section 575.095 or with the intent to pose an
9 imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the [judicial] court-related officer or
10 the [judicial] court-related officer's immediate family.
11 3. As prohibited in this section, persons, businesses, or associations posting,
12 displaying, soliciting, selling, or trading a [judicial] court-related officer's personal
13 information on the internet includes, but is not limited to, internet phone directories,
14 internet search engines, internet data aggregators, and internet service providers.
476.1306. 1. After a person, business, or association has received a written request
2 [from a judicial officer] to protect the privacy of the court-related officer's personal
3 information, that person, business, or association shall have five business days to remove the
4 personal information from the internet.
5 2. After a person, business, or association has received a written request [from a
6 judicial officer] to protect the privacy of the court-related officer's personal information,
7 that person, business, or association shall ensure that the [judicial] court-related officer's
8 personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by
9 that person, business, or association.
10 3. After receiving a [judicial officer's] written request to protect the privacy of the
11 court-related officer's personal information, no person, business, or association shall make
12 available the [judicial] court-related officer's personal information to any other person,
13 business, or association through any medium.
476.1308. A [judicial] court-related officer whose personal information is made
2 public as a result of a violation of sections 476.1304 to 476.1306 may bring an action seeking
3 injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. If the court grants
4 injunctive or declaratory relief, the person, business, or association responsible for the
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 5
5 violation shall be required to pay the [judicial officer's] costs and reasonable attorney's fees of
6 the court-related officer.
476.1310. 1. No government agency, person, business, or association shall be found
2 to have violated any provision of sections 476.1300 to [476.1310] 476.1313 if the [judicial
3 officer fails to submit] government agency, person, business, or association has not
4 received a valid written request calling for the protection of the [judicial] court-related
5 officer's personal information.
6 2. A written request shall be valid if:
7 (1) The [judicial] court-related officer sends a written request directly to a
8 government agency, person, business, or association; or
9 (2) The [judicial] court-related officer complies with a Missouri supreme court rule
10 for a state [judicial] court-related officer to file the written request with the clerk of the
11 Missouri supreme court or the clerk's designee to notify government agencies and such notice
12 is properly delivered by mail or electronic format.
13 3. In each quarter of a calendar year, the clerk of the Missouri supreme court or the
14 clerk's designee shall provide a list of all state [judicial] court-related officers who have
15 submitted a written request under this section to the appropriate officer with ultimate
16 supervisory authority for a government agency. The officer shall promptly provide a copy of
17 the list to all government agencies under his or her supervision. Receipt of the written request
18 list compiled by the clerk of the Missouri supreme court or the clerk's designee by a
19 government agency shall constitute a written request to that government agency for the
20 purposes of sections 476.1300 to [476.1310] 476.1313.
21 4. The chief clerk or circuit clerk of the court where the [judicial] court-related
22 officer serves may submit a written request on the [judicial] court-related officer's behalf,
23 provided that the [judicial] court-related officer gives written consent to the clerk and
24 provided that the clerk agrees to furnish a copy of that consent when a written request is
25 made. The chief clerk or circuit clerk shall submit the written request as provided by
26 subsection 2 of this section.
27 5. A [judicial] court-related officer's written request shall specify what personal
28 information shall be maintained as private. If a [judicial] court-related officer wishes to
29 identify a secondary residence as a home address, the designation shall be made in the written
30 request. A [judicial] court-related officer shall disclose the identity of his or her immediate
31 family and indicate that the personal information of those members of the immediate family
32 shall also be excluded to the extent that it could reasonably be expected to reveal the personal
33 information of the [judicial] court-related officer. A [judicial] court-related officer shall
34 make reasonable efforts to identify specific publicly available content in the possession of a
35 government agency.
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 6
36 6. A [judicial] court-related officer's written request is valid until the [judicial]
37 court-related officer provides the government agency, person, business, or association with
38 written consent to release the personal information. A [judicial] court-related officer's
39 written request expires on such [judicial] court-related officer's death.
40 7. The provisions of sections 476.1300 to [476.1310] 476.1313 shall not apply to any
41 disclosure of personal information of a [judicial] court-related officer or a member of a
42 [judicial] court-related officer's immediate family as required by Article VIII, Section 23 of
43 the Missouri Constitution, sections 105.470 to 105.482, section 105.498, and chapter 130.
476.1313. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a recorder
2 of deeds shall meet the requirements of the provisions of sections 476.1300 to 476.1310 by
3 complying with this section.
4 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
5 (1) "Eligible documents", documents or instruments that are maintained by and
6 located in the office of the recorder of deeds that are accessed electronically;
7 (2) ["Immediate family" shall have the same meaning as in section 476.1300;
8 (3)] "Indexes", indexes maintained by and located in the office of the recorder of
9 deeds that are accessed electronically;
10 [(4) "Judicial officer" shall have the same meaning as in section 476.1300;
11 (5)] (3) "Recorder of deeds" shall have the same meaning as in section 59.005;
12 [(6)] (4) "Shield", "shielded", or "shielding", a prohibition against the general public's
13 electronic access to eligible documents and the [unique identifier] document locator
14 number, address, property description, and recording date contained in indexes for eligible
15 documents; except that, nothing in this definition shall prohibit a recorder of deeds from
16 attaching a notice to the grantor's name in the indexes indicating a document is
17 shielded;
18 [(7)] (5) "Written request", written or electronic notice signed by:
19 (a) A state [judicial] court-related officer and submitted to the clerk of the Missouri
20 supreme court or the clerk's designee; or
21 (b) A federal [judicial] court-related officer and submitted to that [judicial] court-
22 related officer's clerk of the court or the clerk's designee;
23
24 that is transmitted electronically by the applicable clerk to a recorder of deeds to request that
25 eligible documents be shielded.
26 [2.] 3. Written requests transmitted to a recorder of deeds shall only include
27 information specific to eligible documents maintained by that county. Any written request
28 transmitted to a recorder of deeds shall include the requesting [judicial] court-related
29 officer's full legal name or legal alias and a document locator number for each eligible
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 7
30 document for which the [judicial] court-related officer is requesting shielding. If the
31 [judicial] court-related officer is not a party to the instrument but is requesting shielding for
32 an eligible document in which an immediate family member is a party to the instrument, the
33 full legal name or legal alias of the immediate family member shall also be provided.
34 [3.] 4. Not more than five business days after the date on which the recorder of deeds
35 receives the written request, the recorder of deeds shall shield the eligible documents listed in
36 the written request. Within five business days of receipt, the recorder of deeds shall
37 electronically reply to the written request with a list of any document locator numbers
38 submitted under subsection [2] 3 of this section not found in the records maintained by that
39 recorder of deeds.
40 [4.] 5. If the full legal name or legal alias of the [judicial] court-related officer or
41 immediate family member provided does not appear on an eligible document listed in the
42 written request, the recorder of deeds may electronically reply to the written request with this
43 information. The recorder of deeds may delay shielding such eligible document until
44 electronic confirmation is received from the applicable court clerk or [judicial] court-related
45 officer.
46 [5.] 6. In order to shield subsequent eligible documents, the [judicial] court-related
47 officer shall present to the recorder of deeds at the time of recording a copy of his or her
48 written request. The recorder of deeds shall ensure that the eligible document is shielded
49 within five business days.
50 [6.] 7. Eligible documents shall remain shielded until the recorder of deeds receives a
51 court order or notarized affidavit signed by the [judicial] court-related officer directing the
52 recorder of deeds to terminate shielding.
53 [7.] 8. The provisions of this section shall not prohibit access to a shielded eligible
54 document by a party to the instrument or an individual or entity that provides to the
55 recorder of deeds a court order or notarized affidavit signed by the [judicial] court-related
56 officer.
57 [8.] 9. No recorder of deeds shall be liable for any damages under this section,
58 provided the recorder of deeds made a good faith effort to comply with the provisions of this
59 section. No recorder of deeds shall be liable for the release of any eligible document or any
60 data from any eligible document that was released or accessed prior to the eligible document
61 being shielded pursuant to this section.
610.021. Except to the extent disclosure is otherwise required by law, a public
2 governmental body is authorized to close meetings, records and votes, to the extent they relate
3 to the following:
4 (1) Legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body
5 and any confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body or
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 8
6 its representatives and its attorneys. However, any minutes, vote or settlement agreement
7 relating to legal actions, causes of action or litigation involving a public governmental body
8 or any agent or entity representing its interests or acting on its behalf or with its authority,
9 including any insurance company acting on behalf of a public government body as its insured,
10 shall be made public upon final disposition of the matter voted upon or upon the signing by
11 the parties of the settlement agreement, unless, prior to final disposition, the settlement
12 agreement is ordered closed by a court after a written finding that the adverse impact to a
13 plaintiff or plaintiffs to the action clearly outweighs the public policy considerations of
14 section 610.011, however, the amount of any moneys paid by, or on behalf of, the public
15 governmental body shall be disclosed; provided, however, in matters involving the exercise of
16 the power of eminent domain, the vote shall be announced or become public immediately
17 following the action on the motion to authorize institution of such a legal action. Legal work
18 product shall be considered a closed record;
19 (2) Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body where
20 public knowledge of the transaction might adversely affect the legal consideration therefor.
21 However, any minutes, vote or public record approving a contract relating to the leasing,
22 purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body shall be made public upon
23 execution of the lease, purchase or sale of the real estate;
24 (3) Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public
25 governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded.
26 However, any vote on a final decision, when taken by a public governmental body, to hire,
27 fire, promote or discipline an employee of a public governmental body shall be made
28 available with a record of how each member voted to the public within seventy-two hours of
29 the close of the meeting where such action occurs; provided, however, that any employee so
30 affected shall be entitled to prompt notice of such decision during the seventy-two-hour
31 period before such decision is made available to the public. As used in this subdivision, the
32 term "personal information" means information relating to the performance or merit of
33 individual employees;
34 (4) The state militia or national guard or any part thereof;
35 (5) Nonjudicial mental or physical health proceedings involving identifiable persons,
36 including medical, psychiatric, psychological, or alcoholism or drug dependency diagnosis or
37 treatment;
38 (6) Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals,
39 including records of individual test or examination scores; however, personally identifiable
40 student records maintained by public educational institutions shall be open for inspection by
41 the parents, guardian or other custodian of students under the age of eighteen years and by the
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 9
42 parents, guardian or other custodian and the student if the student is over the age of eighteen
43 years;
44 (7) Testing and examination materials, before the test or examination is given or, if it
45 is to be given again, before so given again;
46 (8) Welfare cases of identifiable individuals;
47 (9) Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf of a public
48 governmental body or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups;
49 (10) Software codes for electronic data processing and documentation thereof;
50 (11) Specifications for competitive bidding, until either the specifications are
51 officially approved by the public governmental body or the specifications are published for
52 bid;
53 (12) Sealed bids and related documents, until the bids are opened; and sealed
54 proposals and related documents or any documents related to a negotiated contract until a
55 contract is executed, or all proposals are rejected;
56 (13) Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records
57 pertaining to employees or applicants for employment, except that this exemption shall not
58 apply to the names, positions, salaries and lengths of service of officers and employees of
59 public agencies once they are employed as such, and the names of private sources donating or
60 contributing money to the salary of a chancellor or president at all public colleges and
61 universities in the state of Missouri and the amount of money contributed by the source;
62 (14) Records which are protected from disclosure by law;
63 (15) Meetings and public records relating to scientific and technological innovations
64 in which the owner has a proprietary interest;
65 (16) Records relating to municipal hotlines established for the reporting of abuse and
66 wrongdoing;
67 (17) Records relating to reports of allegations of improper governmental activities
68 under section 29.221;
69 (18) Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body
70 and its auditor, including all auditor work product; however, all final audit reports issued by
71 the auditor are to be considered open records pursuant to this chapter;
72 (19) (a) Security measures, global positioning system (GPS) data, investigative
73 information, or investigative or surveillance techniques of any public agency responsible for
74 law enforcement or public safety that, if disclosed, has the potential to endanger the health or
75 safety of an individual or the public.
76 (b) Any information or data provided to a tip line for the purpose of safety or security
77 at an educational institution that, if disclosed, has the potential to endanger the health or
78 safety of an individual or the public.
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 10
79 (c) Any information contained in any suspicious activity report provided to law
80 enforcement that, if disclosed, has the potential to endanger the health or safety of an
81 individual or the public.
82 (d) Operational guidelines, policies and specific response plans developed, adopted,
83 or maintained by any public agency responsible for law enforcement, public safety, first
84 response, or public health for use in responding to or preventing any critical incident which
85 has the potential to endanger individual or public safety or health. Financial records related to
86 the procurement of or expenditures relating to operational guidelines, policies or plans
87 purchased with public funds shall be open. When seeking to close information pursuant to
88 this exception, the public governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing that
89 disclosure would impair the public governmental body's ability to protect the security or
90 safety of persons or real property, and shall in the same writing state that the public interest in
91 nondisclosure outweighs the public interest in disclosure of the records;
92 (20) Existing or proposed security systems and structural plans of real property
93 owned or leased by a public governmental body, and information that is voluntarily submitted
94 by a nonpublic entity owning or operating an infrastructure to any public governmental body
95 for use by that body to devise plans for protection of that infrastructure, the public disclosure
96 of which would threaten public safety:
97 (a) Records related to the procurement of or expenditures relating to security systems
98 purchased with public funds shall be open;
99 (b) When seeking to close information pursuant to this exception, the public
100 governmental body shall affirmatively state in writing that disclosure would impair the public
101 governmental body's ability to protect the security or safety of persons or real property, and
102 shall in the same writing state that the public interest in nondisclosure outweighs the public
103 interest in disclosure of the records;
104 (c) Records that are voluntarily submitted by a nonpublic entity shall be reviewed by
105 the receiving agency within ninety days of submission to determine if retention of the
106 document is necessary in furtherance of a state security interest. If retention is not necessary,
107 the documents shall be returned to the nonpublic governmental body or destroyed;
108 (21) The portion of a record that identifies security systems or access codes or
109 authorization codes for security systems of real property;
110 (22) Records that identify the configuration of components or the operation of a
111 computer, computer system, computer network, or telecommunications network, and would
112 allow unauthorized access to or unlawful disruption of a computer, computer system,
113 computer network, or telecommunications network of a public governmental body. This
114 exception shall not be used to limit or deny access to otherwise public records in a file,
115 document, data file or database containing public records. Records related to the procurement
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116 of or expenditures relating to such computer, computer system, computer network, or
117 telecommunications network, including the amount of moneys paid by, or on behalf of, a
118 public governmental body for such computer, computer system, computer network, or
119 telecommunications network shall be open;
120 (23) Credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, digital certificates,
121 physical and virtual keys, access codes or authorization codes that are used to protect the
122 security of electronic transactions between a public governmental body and a person or entity
123 doing business with a public governmental body. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to
124 close the record of a person or entity using a credit card held in the name of a public
125 governmental body or any record of a transaction made by a person using a credit card or
126 other method of payment for which reimbursement is made by a public governmental body;
127 (24) Records submitted by an individual, corporation, or other business entity to a
128 public institution of higher education in connection with a proposal to license intellectual
129 property or perform sponsored research and which contains sales projections or other
130 business plan information the disclosure of which may endanger the competitiveness of a
131 business;
132 (25) Records relating to foster home or kinship placements of children in foster care
133 under section 210.498; [and]
134 (26) Individually identifiable customer usage and billing records for customers of a
135 municipally owned utility or a utility operated by any political subdivision created by
136 Article VI, Section 30(a) of the Constitution of Missouri, unless the records are requested
137 by the customer or authorized for release by the customer, except that a municipally owned
138 utility or a utility operated by any political subdivision created by Article VI, Section 30
139 (a) of the Constitution of Missouri shall make available to the public the customer's name,
140 billing address, location of service, and dates of service provided for any commercial service
141 account;
142 (27) Any portion of a record that contains individually identifiable information
143 of a minor under eighteen years of age held by a public governmental body, if such
144 public governmental body is a city, town, village, or park board except when such
145 records are requested by the division of labor standards within the department of labor
146 and industrial relations for the purpose of enforcing chapter 294;
147 (28) Individually identifiable customer information for visitors who make a
148 camping, lodging, or shelter reservation for a county park, municipal park, or Missouri
149 state park or state historic site unless the records are requested by the visitor or
150 authorized for release by the visitor, and except that this exemption shall not apply to
151 the municipality of residence and the zip code of residence of the visitor; and
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 12
152 (29) Records to protect the specific location of a plant or animal species
153 considered endangered, threatened, critically imperiled, imperiled, or vulnerable when
154 the known location may cause the species to be at an increased risk of peril.
610.026. 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body
2 shall provide access to and, upon request, furnish copies of public records subject to the
3 following:
4 (1) Fees for copying public records, except those records restricted under section
5 32.091, shall not exceed ten cents per page for a paper copy not larger than nine by fourteen
6 inches, with the hourly fee for duplicating time not to exceed the average hourly rate of pay
7 for clerical staff of the public governmental body. Research time required for fulfilling
8 records requests may be charged at the actual cost of research time. Based on the scope of the
9 request, the public governmental body shall produce the copies using employees of the body
10 that result in the lowest amount of charges for search, research, and duplication time. Prior to
11 producing copies of the requested records, the person requesting the records may request the
12 public governmental body to provide an estimate of the cost to the person requesting the
13 records. Documents may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge when the public
14 governmental body determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest
15 because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or
16 activities of the public governmental body and is not primarily in the commercial interest of
17 the requester;
18 (2) Fees for providing access to public records maintained on computer facilities,
19 recording tapes or disks, videotapes or films, pictures, maps, slides, graphics, illustrations or
20 similar audio or visual items or devices, and for paper copies larger than nine by fourteen
21 inches shall include only the cost of copies, staff time, which shall not exceed the average
22 hourly rate of pay for staff of the public governmental body required for making copies and
23 programming, if necessary, and the cost of the disk, tape, or other medium used for the
24 duplication. Fees for maps, blueprints, or plats that require special expertise to duplicate may
25 include the actual rate of compensation for the trained personnel required to duplicate such
26 maps, blueprints, or plats. If programming is required beyond the customary and usual level
27 to comply with a request for records or information, the fees for compliance may include the
28 actual costs of such programming.
29 2. (1) Payment of [such copying] fees may be requested prior to [the making of
30 copies] fulfilling the request.
31 (2) A request for public records to a public governmental body shall be
32 considered withdrawn if the requester fails to remit all fees within ninety days, or within
33 one hundred fifty days if the requested fees are greater than one thousand dollars, of a
34 request for payment of the fees by the public governmental body, prior to fulfilling the
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 13
35 request. The public governmental body shall include notice to the requester that if the
36 requester fails to remit payment of the fees within ninety days, or within one hundred
37 fifty days if the requested fees are greater than one thousand dollars, then the request
38 for public records shall be considered withdrawn. If the public governmental body
39 responds to a request for public records in order to seek a clarification of the request
40 and no response to the request for clarification is received by the public governmental
41 body within ninety days, or within one hundred fifty days if the requested fees are
42 greater than one thousand dollars, of sending the request for clarification, then such
43 request for public records shall be considered withdrawn. The request for clarification
44 by the public governmental body shall include notice to the requester that if the
45 requester fails to respond within ninety days, or within one hundred fifty days if the
46 requested fees are greater than one thousand dollars, then the request shall be
47 considered withdrawn. If the same or a substantially similar request for public records
48 is made within six months after the expiration of the ninety-day period, or within one
49 hundred fifty days if the requested fees are greater than one thousand dollars, and no
50 fee was remitted for such request or no response was received to the request for
51 clarification, then the public governmental body may request payment of the same fees
52 made for the original request that has expired in addition to any allowable fees
53 necessary to fulfill the subsequent request. Any request for records to a public
54 governmental body that is pending on August 28, 2025, shall be considered withdrawn if
55 the requester fails to remit all fees by January 1, 2026. The provisions of this
56 subdivision shall not apply if a lawsuit has been filed against the public governmental
57 body with regard to the records that are the subject of the request under this
58 subdivision.
59 3. Except as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body of the state
60 shall remit all moneys received by or for it from fees charged pursuant to this section to the
61 director of revenue for deposit to the general revenue fund of the state.
62 4. Except as otherwise provided by law, each public governmental body of a political
63 subdivision of the state shall remit all moneys received by it or for it from fees charged
64 pursuant to sections 610.010 to 610.028 to the appropriate fiscal officer of such political
65 subdivision for deposit to the governmental body's accounts.
66 5. The term "tax, license or fees" as used in Section 22 of Article X of the
67 Constitution of the State of Missouri does not include copying charges and related fees that do
68 not exceed the level necessary to pay or to continue to pay the costs for providing a service,
SS SCS HCS HBs 145 & 59 14
69 program, or activity which was in existence on November 4, 1980, or which was approved by
70 a vote of the people subsequent to November 4, 1980.
✔Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.