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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2087
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE MURRA Y .
4412H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 82, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to intentional
balloon releases in certain cities, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 82, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 82.921, to read as follows:
82.921. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Balloon", an inflatable, flexible bag made fr om latex, rubber , mylar , or
3 other materials, designed to be inflated with air or gas, such as helium;
4 (2) "City", a city not within a county;
5 (3) "Intentional r elease", the act of knowingly and deliberately releasing one or
6 mor e balloons into the atmospher e, reg ardless of intent or purpose;
7 (4) "Person", an individual, business, corporation, nonpr ofit organization,
8 government entity , grou p, or combination of such individuals or entities.
9 2. (1) No person shall intentionally release or cause to be intentionally r eleased
10 any balloon into the atmospher e on private or public pr operty within the boundaries of
11 a city .
12 (2) No person shall sponsor , organize, or pr omote an event that includes the
13 intentional rele ase of balloons into the atmospher e on private or public pr operty within
14 the boundaries of a city .
15 3. This section shall not apply to:
16 (1) Balloons released indoors, fully contained within a building or structur e;
EXPLANA TION — 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.
17 (2) Scientific or meteor ological res ear ch pro jects conducted by government
18 agencies, universities, or scientific institutions using balloons appr oved by the United
19 States Envir onmental Pr otection Agency or the Federal A viation Administration;
20 (3) Hot air balloons that ar e fully rec overed after flight; or
21 (4) Balloons used in military , res cue, or emergency operations.
22 4. (1) A person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil fine for each
23 balloon intentionally rel eased equal to:
24 (a) One hundred dollars per balloon for a first offense;
25 (b) T wo hundred fifty dollars per balloon for a second offense; and
26 (c) Five hundre d dollars per balloon for a third or subsequent offense.
27 (2) If a person who violates this section is a business or similar entity that
28 pr omotes or sponsors balloon release events, such person may be subject to an
29 additional civil fine of two thousand five hundred dollars per event.
30 (3) (a) At the discr etion of the court, a person who violates this section may be
31 r equir ed to perform community service in addition to or in lieu of the imposition of a
32 civil fine.
33 (b) Community service performed under this section shall be relat ed to
34 envir onmental conservation including, but not limited to, litter cleanup.
35 5. (1) A city's envir onmental services department or a substantially similar
36 entity may enforce the pr ovisions of this section.
37 (2) A city's department of public safety , or a substantially similar entity , and
38 police department may issue citations for violations of this section.
39 (3) A re sident of a city may report a violation of this section to:
40 (a) Any city department or substantially similar entity established for pr oviding
41 citizen services; or
42 (b) Any envir onmental hotline established by the city or the city's police
43 department for rep orting violations of this section.
44 (4) A city may collaborate with envir onmental organizations and community
45 gr oups to assist with monitoring and rep orting violations of this section.
✔
HB 2087 2