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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2666
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE KEA THLEY .
6374H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o repeal section 537.528, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to civil
actions to protect public expression.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 537.528, RSMo, is repealed and one new section enacted in lieu
2 thereof, to be known as section 537.529, to read as follows:
537.529. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Public
2 Expr ession Pr otection Act".
3 2. (1) As used in this section:
4 (a) "Goods or services", does not include a dramatic, literary , musical, political,
5 journalistic, or artistic work;
6 (b) "Governmental unit" means any city , county , or other political subdivision of
7 this state, or any department, division, board, or other agency of any political
8 subdivision of this state;
9 (c) "Person" means an individual, estate, trust, partnership, business or
10 nonpr ofit entity , governmental unit, or other legal entity .
11 (2) Except as otherwise pr ovided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, this section
12 applies to a cause of action asserted in a civil action against a person based on the
13 person's:
14 (a) Communication in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or other
15 governmental proce eding;
16 (b) Communication on an issue under consideration or revi ew in a legislative,
17 executive, judicial, administrative, or other governmental pr oceeding; or
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.
18 (c) Exercis e of the right of fr eedom of speech or of the pr ess, the right to
19 assemble or petition, or the right of association, guaranteed by the Constitution of the
20 United States or the Constitution of Missouri, on a matter of public concern.
21 (3) This section does not apply to a cause of action asserted:
22 (a) Against a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit
23 acting or purporting to act in an official capacity;
24 (b) By a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a governmental unit
25 acting in an official capacity to enfor ce a law to protect against an imminent thr eat to
26 public health or safety; or
27 (c) Against a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods
28 or services if the cause of action arises out of a communication rel ated to the person's
29 sale or lease of the goods or services.
30 3. No later than sixty days after a party is served with a complaint, cros sclaim,
31 counter claim, third-party claim, or other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which
32 this section applies, or at a later time on a showing of good cause, the party may file a
33 special motion to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause of action.
34 4. (1) Except as otherwise pro vided in this subsection:
35 (a) All other proceed ings between the moving party and res ponding party in an
36 action, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed on the filing of a
37 motion under subsection 3 of this section; and
38 (b) On motion by the moving party , the court may stay:
39 a. A hearing or motion involving another party if the ruling on the hearing or
40 motion would adjudicate a legal or factual issue that is material to the motion under
41 subsection 3 of this section; or
42 b. Discovery by another party if the discovery rel ates to the issue.
43 (2) A stay under subdivision (1) of this subsection rem ains in effect until entry of
44 an order ruling on the motion filed under subsection 3 of this section and the expiration
45 of the time to appeal the order .
46 (3) If a party appeals fro m an order ruling on a motion under subsection 3 of
47 this section, all proce edings between all parties in an action are stayed. The stay
48 r emains in effect until the conclusion of the appeal.
49 (4) During a stay under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the court may allow
50 limited discovery if a party shows that specific information is necessary to establish
51 whether a party has satisfied or failed to satisfy a burden imposed by subdivision (1) of
52 subsection 7 of this section and is not rea sonably available without discovery .
53 (5) A motion for costs and expenses under subsection 10 of this section shall not
54 be subject to a stay under this section.
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55 (6) A stay under this subsection does not affect a party's ability to voluntarily
56 dismiss a cause of action or part of a cause of action or move to sever a cause of action.
57 (7) During a stay under this section, the court for good cause may hear and rule
58 on:
59 (a) A motion unre lated to the motion under subsection 3 of this section; and
60 (b) A motion seeking a special or pr eliminary injunction to protect against an
61 imminent thr eat to public health or safety .
62 5. (1) The court shall hear a motion under subsection 3 of this section no later
63 than sixty days after filing of the motion, unless the court orders a later hearing:
64 (a) T o allow discovery under subdivision (4) of subsection 4 of this section; or
65 (b) For other good cause.
66 (2) If the court orders a later hearing under paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of
67 this subsection, the court shall hear the motion under subsection 3 of this section no
68 later than sixty days after the court order allowing the discovery , subject to paragraph
69 (b) of subdivision (1) of this subsection.
70 6. In ruling on a motion under subsection 3 of this section, the court shall
71 consider the parties' pleadings, the motion, any rep lies and re sponses to the motion, and
72 any evidence that could be consider ed in ruling on a motion for summary judgment.
73 7. (1) In ruling on a motion under subsection 3 of this section, the court shall
74 dismiss with prej udice a cause of action or part of a cause of action if:
75 (a) The moving party establishes under subdivision (2) of subsection 2 of this
76 section that this section applies;
77 (b) The r esponding party fails to establish under subdivision (3) of subsection 2
78 of this section that this section does not apply; and
79 (c) Either:
80 a. The res ponding party fails to establish a prima facie case as to each essential
81 element of the cause of action; or
82 b. The moving party establishes that:
83 (i) The res ponding party failed to state a cause of action upon which reli ef can be
84 granted; or
85 (ii) Ther e is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the party is entitled to
86 judgment as a matter of law on the cause of action or part of the cause of action.
87 (2) A voluntary dismissal without prej udice of a res ponding party's cause of
88 action, or part of a cause of action, that is the subject of a motion under subsection 3 of
89 this section does not affect a moving party's right to obtain a ruling on the motion and
90 seek costs, rea sonable attorney's fees, and rea sonable litigation expenses under
91 subsection 10 of this section.
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92 (3) A voluntary dismissal with prej udice of a r esponding party's cause of action,
93 or part of a cause of action, that is the subject of a motion under subsection 3 of this
94 section establishes for the purpose of subsection 10 of this section that the moving party
95 pr evailed on the motion.
96 8. The court shall rule on a motion under subsection 3 of this section no later
97 than sixty days after the hearing under subsection 5 of this section.
98 9. A moving party may appeal within twenty-one days as a matter of right fr om
99 an order denying, in whole or in part, a motion under subsection 3 of this section.
100 10. On a motion under subsection 3 of this section, the court shall award costs,
101 r easonable attorney's fees, and r easonable litigation expenses relat ed to the motion:
102 (1) T o the moving party if the moving party pre vails on the motion; or
103 (2) T o the res ponding party if the r esponding party prevai ls on the motion and
104 the court finds that the motion was frivolous or filed solely with intent to delay the
105 pr oceeding.
106 1 1. This section shall be broa dly construed and applied to pr otect the exer cise of
107 the right of fr eedom of speech and of the press , the right to assemble and petition, and
108 the right of association, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States or the
109 Constitution of Missouri.
110 12. In applying and construing this section, consideration shall be given to the
111 need to promot e uniformity of the law with res pect to its subject matter among states
112 that enact it.
113 13. This section applies to a civil action filed or cause of action asserted in a civil
114 action on or after August 28, 2026.
[ 537.528. 1. Any action against a person for conduct or speech
2 undertaken or made in connection with a public hearing or public meeting, in a
3 quasi-judicial proceeding before a tribunal or decision-making body of the
4 state or any political subdivision of the state is subject to a special motion to
5 dismiss, motion for judgment on the pleadings, or motion for summary
6 judgment that shall be considered by the court on a priority or expedited basis
7 to ensure the early consideration of the issues raised by the motion and to
8 prevent the unnecessary expense of litigation. Upon the filing of any special
9 motion described in this subsection, all discovery shall be suspended pending a
10 decision on the motion by the court and the exhaustion of all appeals regarding
11 the special motion.
12 2. If the rights affor ded by this section are raised as an af firmative
13 defense and if a court grants a motion to dismiss, a motion for judgment on the
14 pleadings or a motion for summary judgment filed within ninety days of the
15 filing of the moving party's answer , the court shall award reasonable attorney
16 fees and costs incurred by the moving party in defending the action. If the
17 court finds that a special motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment is
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18 frivolous or solely intended to cause unnecessary delay , the court shall award
19 costs and reasonable attorney fees to the party prevailing on the motion.
20 3. Any party shall have the right to an expedited appeal from a trial
21 court order on the special motions described in subsection 2 of this section or
22 from a trial court's failure to rule on the motion on an expedited basis.
23 4. As used in this section, a "public meeting in a quasi-judicial
24 proceeding" means and includes any meeting established and held by a state or
25 local governmental entity , including without limitations meetings or
2 6 presentations before state, county , city , town or village councils, planning
27 commissions, review boards or commissions.
28 5. Nothing in this section limits or prohibits the exercise of a right or
29 remedy of a party granted pursuant to another constitutional, statutory ,
30 common law or administrative provision, including civil actions for
3 1 defamation.
32 6. If any provision of this section or the application of any provision of
33 this section to a person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity shall not
34 af fect other provisions or applications of this section that can be given ef fect
35 without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
36 this section are severable.
37 7. The provisions of this section shall apply to all causes of actions. ]
✔
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