Jefferson City — Two bills passed the Missouri House and one passed the Missouri Senate last week.

The bills still need to be passed on the other side of the state legislature before being sent to Governor Kehoe.

In the Missouri House, Rep. Mazzie Christenson’s bill HB1694, “Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation” passed 149 yes and 0 no votes. This bill was introduced to prevent small businesses from being targeted by predatory lawsuits, often filed by out-of-state litigants, over minor Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) website accessibility violations. It aims to curb lawsuits that prioritize extracting legal fees over genuine, good-faith efforts to correct accessibility issues. The legislation establishes a 30-day notice-and-cure period, allowing businesses to fix alleged issues in good faith without facing lawsuits. The bill has been sent to the Missouri Senate for consideration.

In the Missouri Senate, a similar bill SB 1154 has been filed by Senator Joe Nicola. The Senate version has a 90 day ‘cure’ period.

SB1154: A defendant who receives notice of an alleged website accessibility violation and in good faith takes substantial steps to correct the violation within 90 days shall have a rebuttable presumption that any subsequent litigation is not abusive. The presumption may be overcome by a showing that the defendant failed to complete reasonable corrective measures within 90 days or acted in bad faith.

The Attorney General may intervene or bring an action on behalf of Missouri residents that are targets of abusive website access litigation. The Attorney General may also issue guidance as to when litigation practices are deemed abusive, but such guidance shall not preclude legitimate accessibility enforcement actions.

Protecting Missouri’s small businesses is serious business for our state legislators. Bills similar to HB1694 and SB1154 have also been filed by Senator Brad Hudson, Senator Curtis Trent, Rep. Carolyn Caton, Rep. John Voss, Rep. Sherri Gallick, Rep. Jeff Vernetti, Rep. Travis Wilson and Rep. Mike Costlow.

The Missouri House also passed the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” HB1667 by Rep. Brian Seitz. This bill requires that any child born alive during an abortion or attempted abortion receives the same degree of professional care as any other newborn. Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson, a medical doctor, told Fox 2 “I think this is very common sense legislation.” The bill passed along party lines 103 yes to 40 no votes. The bill has been sent to the Missouri Senate for consideration.

The Missouri Senate passed SB937 by Senator Mike Bernskoetter. This bill authorizes the conveyance of state property to local governments or other state agencies.

For more information on bills and contact information for your state legislators, visit house.mo.gov and senate.mo.gov