Governor Kehoe signs bills supported by Missouri Press Association

By Doug Crews

MPA Legislative Director

On Monday, July 13, Governor Mike Kehoe completed signing legislation that had been passed by the General Assembly earlier this year. Included among those bills signed by the Governor were four bills that Missouri Press Association had promoted during the session.

“Today’s bill signings follow a thorough review of all the legislation sent to my desk this year,” the Governor said. “I appreciate the efforts of the men and women of the 103rd General Assembly during one of the most productive legislative sessions in recent history. I look forward to continuing to work with legislators in the years ahead to make Missouri even safer, stronger, and more prosperous.”

The bills of most interest to MPA were House Bill 1940, House Bill 1871, Senate Bill 1067, and Senate Bill 835 & 1111, all signed on Monday. The legislation will take effect on August 28, according to state law.

“It proved to be a productive session for MPA, highlighted by the passage of House Bill 1940 and the failure of other bills that would have adversely affected our members,” Chad Stebbins, MPA Executive Director said.

Newspapers’ new legal publication requirements 

House Bill 1940, as amended, was sponsored by Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton), legislation that changes the length of time for successor newspapers and newly established newspapers to be considered legal newspapers, qualified to publish public notices in their communities. Currently, to qualify, a newspaper must have been published regularly for a period of three years or must be the successor newspaper to a non-active newspaper that restarts publication no later than 30 days after the termination of the prior newspaper. HB 1940 reduces the regular publication period from three years to one year and increases the time from 30 days to 90 days for a successor newspaper to begin publication. The bill also allows a newspaper that has been purchased or newly established by another newspaper that already satisfies these conditions to qualify. The bill also allows a county clerk to publish notice of an election twice in at least two qualified newspapers in the county within six weeks before the election. If a county clerk mails the election notice to the county’s registered voters, then the notice will be published only once, rather than two times. The election notice portion of the bill was an MPA compromise with the Missouri Association of County Clerks and Election Authorities.

Election notices

House Bill 1871, sponsored by Rep. Peggy McGaugh (R-Carrollton), allows a county clerk to mail election notices to all registered voters in their county and, if notices are mailed, a newspaper in that county would publish the election notice one time instead of two times. Also, election notices would be published within six weeks of an election, rather than within one week before the election. The bill provides that, in the case of a bond election, if an election contest is not filed within 30 days after the official announcement of the election result, all conditions of state election law must be deemed to have been complied with in the issuance of the bond. The bill also reorganizes and updates Missouri’s election statutes by repealing and rewriting multiple sections that govern various aspects of election administration, procedures, and rules.

Anti-slapp legislation

Senate Bill 1067, sponsored by Sen. Mike Henderson (R-Desloge), and Senate Bills 835 & 1111, sponsored by Sen. Sandy Crawford (R-Buffalo), both contain the “Uniform Public Expression Protection Act” or anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation). The legislation is to protect speakers at public meetings and elsewhere, even on social media, from meritless lawsuits, creating a faster path for judges to dismiss such lawsuits. The legislation would allow defendants to seek early dismissal of cases arising from speech, press, assembly, petition and association rights tied to matters of public concern.

House Bill 1940, along with the Anti-SLAPP legislation, had been filed for approximately the past five sessions of the General Assembly, but this year those bills were passed and were signed into law by the Governor.