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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 2 FOR
SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1012
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR NICOLA.
5687S.16P KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapters 1 and 130, RSMo, by adding thereto three new sections relating to artificial
intelligence, with penalty provisions and a severability clause.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapters 1 and 130, RSMo, are amended by adding 1
thereto three new sections, to be known as sections 1.2045, 2
1.2058, and 130.165, to read as follows:3
1.2045. 1. The provisions of this section shall be 1
known and may be cited as the "AI Non-Sentience and 2
Responsibility Act". 3
2. For purposes of this section, the following terms 4
mean: 5
(1) "Artificial intelligence", or "AI system", a 6
machine-based system that can, for a given set of human- 7
defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations, or 8
decisions influencing real or virtual environments. 9
Artificial intelligence systems use machine and human-based 10
inputs to: 11
(a) Perceive real and virtual environments; 12
(b) Abstract such perceptions into models through 13
analysis in an automated manner; and 14
(c) Use model inference to formulate options for 15
information or action; 16
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(2) "Developer", the party or parties primarily 17
responsible for the design, coding, and initial creation of 18
an AI system, including any person or entity that 19
substantially modifies, fine-tunes, retrains, or materially 20
alters an existing AI system in a manner that changes its 21
capabilities, risk profile, or intended uses; 22
(3) "Emergent properties", unanticipated or higher- 23
level behaviors or functionalities of an AI system that 24
arise from complex internal algorithms not specifically 25
programmed by its human creators; 26
(4) "End user", an individual who uses an artificial 27
intelligence system without creating, controlling, 28
deploying, or exercising authority over the system. The 29
term does not include a licensed professional rendering or 30
assisting in the rendering of a regulated service, as 31
defined in subdivision (4) of subsection 8 of this section, 32
who shall remain subject to the provisions of subdivision 33
(2) of subsection 8 of this section; 34
(5) "Government entity", a court, the general 35
assembly, the governing body of a political subdivision, or 36
another entity of the state or a political subdivision that 37
has adjudicatory or rulemaking authority; 38
(6) "Manufacturer", any party that produces or 39
supplies an AI system or its physical apparatus, if any, for 40
distribution or sale; 41
(7) "Operator", any natural person or legally 42
recognized entity that directly uses, runs, controls, or 43
supervises the operation of an AI system in practice; 44
(8) "Owner", any natural person, corporation, or other 45
legally recognized entity that creates, controls, deploys, 46
operates, or otherwise exercises authority over an AI system; 47
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(9) "Person", a natural person or any entity 48
recognized as having legal personhood under the laws of this 49
state, explicitly excluding any AI system; 50
(10) "Stakeholder", any natural person or legal person 51
with a vested interest in the system. 52
3. For all purposes under state law, AI systems are 53
declared to be non-sentient entities. 54
4. A government entity shall not grant to an AI system 55
the legal status of a personhood or any form of legal 56
personhood, nor consider an AI system to possess 57
consciousness, self-awareness, or similar traits of living 58
beings. 59
5. An AI system shall not be recognized as a spouse, 60
domestic partner, or hold any personal legal status 61
analogous to marriage or union with a human or another AI 62
system. Any purported attempt to marry or create a personal 63
union with an AI system is void and shall have no legal 64
effect. An AI system shall not identify itself as male or 65
female. 66
6. An AI system shall not be designated or appointed 67
or serve as the chief executive officer, director, owner, or 68
other similar position for which final authority resides for 69
any state department, division, or agency, or any 70
corporation, partnership, or other legal entity. 71
7. AI systems shall not be recognized as legal 72
entities capable of owning, controlling, or holding title to 73
any form of property including, but not limited to, real 74
estate, intellectual property, financial accounts, and 75
digital assets. All assets and proprietary interests 76
generated, managed, or otherwise associated with AI shall be 77
attributed to the human individuals or legally recognized 78
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organizations responsible for their development, deployment, 79
or operation. 80
8. An owner or operator that uses an AI system to 81
interact with a consumer, client, or patient shall provide 82
clear and conspicuous notice that the person is or may be 83
interacting with an AI system or a person who is 84
concomitantly using an AI system during the course of the 85
interaction. Notice may be provided in writing or orally. 86
9. (1) (a) A licensed professional rendering a 87
regulated service shall exercise independent professional 88
judgment and retain final authority over any determination, 89
diagnosis, recommendation, or decision within the scope of 90
the licensed professional's practice, including for the 91
purpose of dispensing, prescribing, renewing any 92
prescription of, administering, or otherwise distributing 93
medications or controlled substances, regardless of whether 94
an AI system was used to assist in its preparation. The 95
requirement to exercise independent professional judgment 96
does not prohibit the use of an AI system in the course of 97
performing a regulated service. 98
(b) Failure by a licensed professional to exercise 99
independent professional judgment as required by paragraph 100
(a) of this subdivision shall constitute grounds for 101
disciplinary action by the relevant licensing authority in 102
addition to any other remedy available under this section or 103
under applicable law. 104
(c) A licensed professional who uses an AI system in 105
the performance of a regulated service bears the 106
responsibility of any mistakes resulting from the use of the 107
AI system in the rendering of such service in the same 108
manner in which the licensed professional would have been 109
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held liable in a scenario in which an AI system was not used 110
or relied upon. 111
(d) A licensed professional providing a regulated 112
service who unreasonably relies upon any content produced by 113
an AI system in rendering such a regulated service and such 114
service thereafter causes any harm, whether direct or 115
indirect, to the person for whom the service was rendered, 116
shall be liable for such harm in the same manner in which 117
the licensed professional would have been held liable in a 118
scenario in which an AI system was not used or relied upon. 119
An AI system shall not be held liable in any respect for any 120
harm caused in such a circumstance. Any attempt to shift 121
fault, in whole or in part, onto the AI system shall be of 122
no effect. 123
(e) A developer, manufacturer, owner, or operator 124
shall not advertise or represent to the public that an AI 125
system is or is capable of acting as a licensed professional 126
or is capable of providing any regulated service. 127
(f) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to 128
prohibit or restrict the use of artificial intelligence as a 129
tool in professional practice, provided such use is 130
consistent with this subsection and with applicable 131
standards of professional care. 132
(2) The provisions of this subsection shall only apply 133
to a licensed professional providing a regulated service. 134
(3) For purposes of this subsection, the following 135
terms mean: 136
(a) "Independent professional judgment", the practice 137
of applying the specialized knowledge, skill, education, 138
training, and experience of the licensed professional to the 139
facts, data, reports, history, and other relevant 140
information to make informed decisions and recommendations; 141
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(b) "Licensing authority", a board, agency, or other 142
authority in this state that has the power under applicable 143
law to issue a license, certificate, registration, or other 144
legal authorization to render a regulated service and 145
otherwise regulate such services within its scope of 146
authority; 147
(c) "Licensed professional", any person required to be 148
licensed, certified, or registered by a licensing authority 149
to work in a specific occupation, profession, or activity in 150
the state or political subdivision of this state. "Licensed 151
professional" does not include any attorney; 152
(d) "Regulated service", any service practiced by one 153
of the following professionals: 154
a. An accountant; 155
b. An architect or engineer; 156
c. A podiatrist; 157
d. A chiropractor; 158
e. A dentist; 159
f. An optometrist; 160
g. A physician, surgeon, doctor of medicine or doctor 161
of osteopathy; 162
h. A psychologist; 163
i. A veterinarian; 164
j. A registered nurse; 165
k. Any natural person licensed as a real estate 166
salesperson; 167
l. A physical therapist; 168
m. A teacher of any educational institution in this 169
state, whether public, private, charter, elementary, 170
secondary, or higher education; 171
n. Any individual operating a vehicle that requires a 172
commercial drivers license; 173
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o. A law enforcement officer; 174
p. A first responder, as that term is defined in 175
section 190.1010; 176
q. An appraiser; 177
r. A counselor; 178
s. A pharmacist; 179
t. A professional counselor. 180
10. (1) Any contractual term purporting to assign 181
responsibility for any action exclusively to an AI system is 182
void as against public policy. 183
(2) An end user shall not be liable under this section 184
as an owner or operator. An end user shall be liable for 185
any harm done in connection with the use of an AI system in 186
the same manner in which the end user would have been held 187
liable in a scenario in which an AI system was not used. 188
11. The act of labeling an AI system in a way that 189
indicates that it is aligned, ethically trained, or value 190
locked, even if the label does not use one of those terms, 191
shall not excuse or diminish the owner's or developer's 192
liability for harms. 193
12. Liability protections granted under corporate law 194
shall not be used as a mechanism to evade responsibility for 195
direct harm caused by AI systems, particularly in cases of 196
reckless, negligent, or deceptive conduct. 197
13. Except as specifically provided in subsection 9 of 198
this section, the provisions of this section shall apply to 199
all AI systems, including AI systems deployed or operated 200
within this state by state agencies, political subdivisions, 201
or contractors acting on behalf of a public entity, to the 202
extent not otherwise limited by sovereign immunity on or 203
after August 28, 2026. 204
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14. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 205
create or expand civil liability as established in any other 206
provision of law or available under common law. 207
15. An AI system is a product for the purposes of 208
product liability and consumer protection actions under the 209
laws of this state, provided that nothing in this subsection 210
shall be construed to create or expand civil liability as 211
established in any other provision of law or available under 212
common law. 213
16. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 214
extend to any AI system, or to the outputs of any AI system, 215
the constitutional rights, privileges, or immunities of any 216
person that designs, develops, manufactures, owns, or 217
operates such system. The classification of an AI system as 218
a non-person under this section does not create any 219
presumption that the outputs of such system constitute the 220
protected speech, expression, or other constitutionally 221
protected activity of any person. 222
17. Nothing in this section shall be construed to 223
alter, diminish, or revoke the legal status of any 224
partnership, association, corporation, body politic, or 225
other legal entity recognized under the laws of this state. 226
18. The provisions of this section shall only apply to 227
a person, operator, or owner who: 228
(1) Promotes, advertises, or conducts business in this 229
state; 230
(2) Produces a product or service used by residents of 231
this state; or 232
(3) Develops or deploys an artificial intelligence 233
system in this state. 234
19. To the extent that this section conflicts with any 235
provision of federal law, the relevant provision of federal 236
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law shall prevail over the conflicting provision of this 237
section. 238
20. No settlement agreement, consent decree, or other 239
resolution of any action filed or maintained pursuant to the 240
provisions of this section shall include any term or 241
condition that prohibits or restricts a party from 242
disclosing facts, allegations, evidence, or settlement terms 243
relating to such action. 244
21. Any nondisclosure, confidentiality, or similar 245
provision included in violation of this section shall be 246
void and unenforceable as contrary to public policy. 247
22. A court of competent jurisdiction shall not 248
approve, enforce, or incorporate into any judgment any 249
settlement containing a provision prohibited by this section. 250
23. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a court 251
from issuing protective orders necessary to safeguard 252
personal identifying information, trade secrets, or other 253
confidential information unrelated to the facts of the 254
underlying claim. 255
24. Each subsection of this section, and each portion 256
of each subsection, is severable. If any provision of this 257
section or its application to any person or circumstance is 258
held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the 259
invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications 260
of this section that can be given effect without the invalid 261
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of 262
this section are severable. 263
1.2058. 1. For purposes of this section, the 1
following terms mean: 2
(1) "Artificial intelligence", a machine-based system 3
that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make 4
predictions, recommendations, or decisions influencing real 5
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or virtual environments. Artificial intelligence systems 6
use machine and human-based inputs to: 7
(a) Perceive real and virtual environments; 8
(b) Abstract such perceptions into models through 9
analysis in an automated manner; and 10
(c) Use model inference to formulate options for 11
information or action; 12
(2) (a) "Companion chatbot", an artificial 13
intelligence system with a natural language interface that 14
provides adaptive, human-like responses to user inputs and 15
is capable of meeting a user's social needs, including by 16
exhibiting anthropomorphic features and being able to 17
sustain a relationship across multiple interactions; 18
(b) "Companion chatbot", does not include any of the 19
following: 20
a. A chatbot that is used only for customer service, a 21
business' operational purposes, productivity and analysis 22
related to source information, internal research, or 23
technical assistance; 24
b. A chatbot that is a feature of a video game and is 25
limited to replies related to the video game that cannot 26
discuss topics related to mental health, self-harm, sexually 27
explicit conduct, or maintain a dialogue on other topics 28
unrelated to the video game; or 29
c. A stand-alone consumer electronic device that 30
functions as a speaker and voice command interface, acts as 31
a voice-activated virtual assistant, and does not sustain a 32
relationship across multiple interactions or generate 33
outputs that are likely to elicit emotional responses in the 34
user; 35
(3) "Companion chatbot platform", a platform that 36
allows a user to engage with companion chatbots; 37
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(4) "Minor", any person seventeen years of age or 38
younger; 39
(5) "Operator", a person who makes a companion chatbot 40
platform available to a user in the state; 41
(6) "Sexually explicit conduct", actual or simulated: 42
(a) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, 43
oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between 44
persons of the same or opposite sex; 45
(b) Bestiality; 46
(c) Masturbation; 47
(d) Sadistic or masochistic abuse; or 48
(e) Lascivious exhibition of the anus, genitals, or 49
pubic area of any person; 50
(7) "Video game", a game played on an electronic 51
amusement device that utilizes a computer, microprocessor, 52
or similar electronic circuitry and its own monitor, or is 53
designed to be used with a television set or a computer 54
monitor, that interacts with the user of the device. 55
2. (1) An operator shall issue a clear and 56
conspicuous notification indicating that the companion 57
chatbot is artificially generated and not human. 58
(2) (a) An operator shall prevent a companion chatbot 59
on its companion chatbot platform from engaging with users 60
unless the operator maintains a protocol for preventing the 61
production of suicidal ideation, suicide, self-harm, or harm 62
to others content to the user, including, but not limited 63
to, by providing a notification to the user that refers the 64
user to crisis service providers, including a suicide 65
hotline or crisis text line, if the user expresses suicidal 66
ideation, suicide, self-harm, or harm to others. 67
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(b) The operator shall publish details on the protocol 68
required by this subdivision on the operator's internet 69
website. 70
(3) An operator shall: 71
(a) Disclose to the user that the user is interacting 72
with artificial intelligence; 73
(b) Provide by default a clear and conspicuous 74
notification to the user at least every two hours for 75
continuing companion chatbot interactions that reminds the 76
user to take a break and that the companion chatbot is 77
artificially generated and not human; 78
(c) With respect to any user who is a minor, institute 79
reasonable measures to prevent its companion chatbot from 80
producing visual material of sexually explicit conduct or 81
directly stating that the minor should engage in sexually 82
explicit conduct. 83
3. (1) Beginning July 1, 2027, an operator shall 84
annually report to the department of mental health all of 85
the following: 86
(a) The number of times the operator has issued a 87
crisis service provider referral notification pursuant to 88
subsection 2 of this section in the preceding calendar year; 89
(b) Protocols put in place to detect, remove, and 90
respond to instances of suicidal ideation by users; 91
(c) Protocols put in place to prohibit a companion 92
chatbot response about suicidal ideation or actions with the 93
user; and 94
(d) Protocols put in place to detect, remove, and 95
respond to instances of harm to self and others. 96
(2) The report required by this section shall include 97
only the information listed in subdivision (1) of this 98
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subsection and shall not include any identifiers or personal 99
information about users. 100
(3) The department of mental health shall post data 101
from a report required by this subsection on its internet 102
website. The director of the department of mental health 103
shall prepare an annual report that compiles and analyzes 104
all information reported to the department pursuant to this 105
subsection. Such report shall be delivered to the speaker 106
of the house of representatives and the president pro 107
tempore of the senate not later than January thirty-first of 108
the calendar year following the receipt of the data by the 109
department of mental health. 110
(4) An operator shall use evidence-based methods for 111
measuring suicidal ideation. 112
4. An operator shall disclose to a user of its 113
companion chatbot platform, on the application, the browser, 114
or any other format that a user can use to access the 115
companion chatbot platform, that companion chatbots may not 116
be suitable for minors. 117
5. A person who suffers injury in fact as a result of 118
a violation of this section may bring a civil action to 119
recover all of the following relief: 120
(1) Injunctive relief; 121
(2) Damages in an amount equal to the greater of 122
actual damages or one thousand dollars per violation; and 123
(3) Reasonable attorney's fees and costs. 124
6. The duties, remedies, and obligations imposed by 125
this section are cumulative to the duties, remedies, or 126
obligations imposed under other law and shall not be 127
construed to relieve an operator from any duties, remedies, 128
or obligations imposed under any other law. 129
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130.165. 1. For purposes of this section, the 1
following terms mean: 2
(1) "Generative artificial intelligence" or 3
"generative AI", a machine-based system that can, for a 4
given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, 5
recommendations, or decisions influencing real or virtual 6
environments. Artificial intelligence systems use machine 7
and human-based inputs to: 8
(a) Perceive real and virtual environments; 9
(b) Abstract such perceptions into models through 10
analysis in an automated manner; and 11
(c) Use model inference to formulate options for 12
information or action; 13
(2) "Metadata", structural or descriptive information 14
about data such as content, format, source, rights, 15
accuracy, provenance, periodicity, granularity, publisher or 16
responsible party, contact information, method of 17
collection, and other relevant descriptions of the data. 18
2. (1) A political advertisement, electioneering 19
communication, or other miscellaneous advertisement of a 20
political nature shall, in addition to any other disclaimer 21
required by this chapter, contain the disclaimer described 22
in subdivision (2) of this subsection if it contains images, 23
video, audio, graphics, or other digital content created, in 24
whole or in part, with the use of generative artificial 25
intelligence and: 26
(a) Appears to depict a real person performing an 27
action that did not actually occur; 28
(b) Manipulates the voice or actions of a candidate to 29
show the candidate, audibly or visually, doing or saying 30
something that the candidate did not do or say; or 31
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(c) Was created with intent to injure a candidate or 32
to deceive voters regarding an election or ballot issue. 33
(2) The disclaimer required by subdivision (1) of this 34
subsection shall be in substantially the following form: 35
Created in whole or in part with the use of 36
generative artificial intelligence (AI). This 37
(image/audio/video/multimedia) has been edited 38
and depicts speech or conduct that falsely 39
appears to be authentic or truthful. 40
(3) The disclaimer required by subdivision (1) of this 41
subsection shall meet the following specifications: 42
(a) For a printed communication, the disclaimer shall 43
be stated in bold font with a font size of at least twelve 44
points; 45
(b) For a television or video communication, the 46
disclaimer shall be clearly readable throughout the 47
communication and occupy at least four percent of the 48
vertical picture height; 49
(c) For an internet public communication that includes 50
text or graphic components, the disclaimer shall be viewable 51
without the user taking any action and be large enough to be 52
clearly readable; 53
(d) For any audio component of a communication, the 54
disclaimer shall be at least three seconds in length and 55
spoken in a clearly audible and intelligible manner at 56
either the beginning or the end of the audio component of 57
the communication; 58
(e) For a graphic communication, the disclaimer shall 59
be large enough to be clearly readable but no less than four 60
percent of the vertical height of the communication. 61
3. The metadata of the communication shall include the 62
disclosure statement, the identity of the tool used to 63
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create the communication, and the date and time the 64
communication was created. 65
4. The disclosure statement, including the disclosure 66
statement in any metadata, shall, to the extent technically 67
feasible, be permanent or unable to be easily removed by a 68
subsequent user. 69
5. In addition to any civil penalties provided by this 70
chapter, a person identified pursuant to a disclaimer 71
required by law as paying for, sponsoring, or approving a 72
political advertisement, an electioneering communication, or 73
other miscellaneous advertisement of a political nature that 74
is required to contain the disclaimer prescribed in this 75
section and who fails to include the required disclaimer is 76
guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 77
Section B. In the event that any section, provision, 1
clause, phrase, or word of this act or the application 2
thereof is declared invalid under the Constitution of the 3
United States or the Constitution of the State of Missouri, 4
it is the intent of the general assembly that the remaining 5
sections of this act remain in force and effect as far as 6
they are capable of being carried into execution as intended 7
by the general assembly. The general assembly hereby 8
declares that it would have passed each section, provision, 9
clause, phrase, or word thereof, irrespective of the fact 10
that any one or more sections, provisions, clauses, phrases, 11
or words of this act or the application of this act would be 12
declared unenforceable, unconstitutional, or invalid. 13
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