Creates the foreign agents registration act

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 2879
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENT A TIVE SIMMONS.
6524H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapter 130, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to the foreign
agents registration act, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 130, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be
2 known as section 130.300, to read as follows:
130.300. 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Agent of a hostile for eign principal", includes any person:
3 (a) Who acts as an agent, employee, r epresent ative, or servant, or otherwise acts
4 at the order , requ est, or under the dire ction or contro l of a hostile for eign principal;
5 (b) Whose actions are financed in whole or in part by a hostile for eign principal;
6 and
7 (c) Who engages in political activity;
8 (2) "For eign-supported political organization", a political party or a domestic
9 partnership, association, corporation, organization, or any other combination of persons
10 that has, within the past five calendar years, r eceived money or other things of value
11 fr om a hostile for eign principal or an agent of a hostile for eign principal and which
12 engages in political activity;
13 (3) "Hostile for eign country", any for eign nation that has been determined to be
14 a for eign adversary by the United States Department of Commer ce under 15 C.F .R.
15 791.4;
16 (4) "Hostile for eign principal", includes:
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 (a) A government of a hostile for eign country , a political party of a hostile
18 for eign country , or any member of a political party of a hostile for eign country;
19 (b) A nonr esident alien of a hostile for eign country;
20 (c) A partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination
21 of persons organized under the law of or having its principal place of business in a
22 hostile for eign country; and
23 (d) A domestic partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other
24 combination of persons that is under the control of a hostile for eign government, a
25 nonr esident alien of a hostile for eign country , or an entity organized under the laws of
26 or having its principal place of business in a hostile for eign country;
27 (5) "Political activity", any activity that is performed to influence any agency or
28 public official of the state of Missouri, any local government entity within the state of
29 Missouri, or to influence the public within the state of Missouri, with refer ence to
30 formulating, adopting, or changing the policies or laws of the state of Missouri or
31 electing or opposing a candidate for local or state public office.
32 2. No person shall act as an agent of a hostile for eign principal unless he or she
33 has filed with the Missouri ethics commission a true and complete registra tion statement
34 and supplements ther eto as req uire d by this section or unless he or she is exempt fr om
35 r egistration under the pr ovisions of this section. Except as her einafter pr ovided, every
36 person who becomes an agent of a hostile for eign principal shall, within ten days
37 ther eafter , file with the Missouri ethics commission a reg istration statement, under oath,
38 on a form prescrib ed by the commission. The obligation of an agent of a hostile for eign
39 principal to file a r egistration statement shall, after the tenth day of his or her becoming
40 such agent, continue fr om day to day , and termination of such status shall not rel ieve
41 such agent fro m the obligation to file a r egistration statement for the period during
42 which he or she was an agent of a hostile for eign principal. The regist ration statement
43 shall include the following:
44 (1) The registra nt's name, principal business addr ess, all other business
45 addr esses in the United States or elsewhere, and all res idential addr esses, if any;
46 (2) A compr ehensive statement of the natur e of the registra nt's business;
47 (3) A statement of the nature of the work of each hostile for eign principal for
48 whom the reg istrant is acting, assuming or purporting to act, or has agr eed to act, and
49 the character of the business or other activities of every such hostile for eign principal. If
50 any such hostile for eign principal be other than a natural person, such statement shall
51 also detail the ownership and contro l by which each such hostile for eign principal is
52 supervised, directed, owned, contr olled, financed, or subsidized, in whole or in part, by
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53 any government of a hostile for eign country or political party of a hostile for eign
54 country , or by any other hostile for eign principal;
55 (4) The natur e and amount of contributions, income, money , or thing of value, if
56 any , that the reg istrant has receive d within the prece ding sixty days fr om each such
57 hostile for eign principal, either as compensation or for disbursement or otherwise, and
58 the form and time of each such payment and fr om whom rec eived;
59 (5) A detailed statement of every activity which the reg istrant is performing, is
60 assuming or purporting to perform, or has agr eed to perform for himself or herself or
61 any other person other than a hostile for eign principal and which requi res his or her
62 r egistration;
63 (6) The name, business, and r esidence addr esses, and if an individual, the
64 nationality , of any person other than a hostile for eign principal for whom the reg istrant
65 is acting, assuming or purporting to act, or has agreed to act under such cir cumstances
66 as requ ire his or her registr ation her eunder;
67 (7) The natur e and amount of contributions, income, money , or thing of value, if
68 any , that the r egistrant has r eceived during the pr eceding sixty days fr om each such
69 person in connection with any of the activities ref erred to in subdivision (6) of this
70 subsection;
71 (8) A detailed statement of the money and other things of value spent or disposed
72 of by the regist rant during the pr eceding sixty days in furtherance of or in connection
73 with activities which req uire the r egistrant's regist ration under this section and which
74 have been undertaken by the regi strant either as an agent of a hostile for eign principal
75 or for himself or herself or any other person or in connection with any activities rel ating
76 to the regi strant becoming an agent of such principal;
77 (9) A detailed statement of any contributions of money or other things of value
78 made by the r egistrant during the preced ing sixty days to bring about the nomination or
79 election of a candidate for any office, to bring about the r ecall of a public officer holding
80 elective office, to oppose the recall of a public officer holding elective office, and to bring
81 about the appr oval or rej ection by the voters of any pr oposed constitutional
82 amendment, a state-wide ref erend um, or a pr oposed question which is to appear on
83 the ballot in this state or in a county or a municipal election in this state; and
84 (10) Such other statements, information, or documents pertinent to the purposes
85 of this section as the Missouri ethics commission may fr om time to time re quir e.
86 3. No later than January 1, 2027, each for eign-supported political organization
87 shall register with the Missouri ethics commission and pr ovide the following
8 8 information:
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89 (1) The name of the organization, its business addr ess, and the names, titles, and
90 addr esses of all officers and dir ectors of the organization;
91 (2) If the organization is affiliated with or a chapter of a national organization,
92 the name of the national organization, its addr ess, and the names and addr esses of its
93 officers and dir ectors;
94 (3) A detailed statement of any expenditures of money or other things of value
95 made by the organization within the prior calendar year to influence any agency or
96 public official of the state of Missouri, any local government entity within the state of
97 Missouri, or the public within the state of Missouri, with r efer ence to formulating,
98 adopting, or changing the policies or laws of the state of Missouri or electing a candidate
99 to local or state public office; and
100 (4) A detailed statement of all money or other things of value recei ved by the
101 organization fr om a hostile for eign principal or an agent of a hostile for eign principal
102 during the precedi ng calendar year .
103 4. The Missouri ethics commission shall req uire the information r equir ed under
104 subsections 2 and 3 of this section to updated on no less than a quarterly basis.
105 5. Upon r eceipt of a complaint that an agent of a hostile forei gn principal or a
106 for eign-supported political organization has failed to comply with the reg istration and
107 r eporting requ irem ents of this section, or upon its own determination, the Missouri
108 ethics commission shall have authority to investigate and to assess penalties for the
109 violation of this section. The commission may assess penalties up to and including the
110 following:
111 (1) For any violation, up to five hundr ed dollars per infraction; and
112 (2) For willful or rep eated violations, up to ten thousand dollars per infraction
113 and disbarment.
114
115 The Missouri ethics commission may refer any matter to the attorney general for
116 further civil or criminal action.
117 6. The Missouri ethics commission may pr omulgate all necessary rules and
118 r egulations for the administration of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that
119 term is defined in section 536.010, that is creat ed under the authority delegated in this
120 section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the
121 pr ovisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This section and chapter
122 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly
123 pursuant to chapter 536 to revi ew , to delay the effective date, or to disappr ove and annul
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124 a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority
125 and any rule prop osed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall be invalid and void.
✔
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