EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 724
102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR HOSKINS.
4188S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 115.642, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to election
crimes, with an effective date.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 115.642, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 115.642, 2
to read as follows:3
115.642. 1. [Any person may file a complaint with the 1
secretary of state stating the name of any person who has 2
violated any of the provisions of sections 115.629 to 3
115.646 and stating the facts of the alleged offense, sworn 4
to, under penalty of perjury. ] There is hereby created the 5
"Office of Election Crimes and Security" within the office 6
of the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall 7
employ a director and investigators within the office, 8
subject to appropriation. The office shall have the 9
following duties: 10
(1) Responding to notifications and complaints 11
alleging a violation of this chapter; 12
(2) Reviewing notices and reports of alleged 13
violations of this chapter and conducting investigations as 14
deemed necessary; 15
(3) Initiating independent inquiries and conducting 16
investigations into alleged violations of this chapter; and 17
(4) Overseeing a voter fraud hotline. 18 SB 724 2
2. The office shall review complaints and conduct 19
investigations into alleged violations of this chapter or 20
any rule adopted under this chapter. Within thirty days of 21
receiving a complaint, the [secretary of state] office shall 22
notify the person filing the complaint whether or not the 23
[secretary] office has dismissed the complaint or will 24
commence an investigation. The [secretary of state] office 25
shall dismiss frivolous complaints. For purposes of this 26
subsection, "frivolous complaint" shall mean an allegation 27
clearly lacking any basis in fact or law. [Any person who 28
makes a frivolous complaint pur suant to this section shall 29
be liable for actual and compensatory damages to the alleged 30
violator for holding the alleged violator before the public 31
in a false light. If reasonable grounds appear that the 32
alleged offense was committed, the secretary o f state may 33
issue a probable cause statement. If the secretary of state 34
issues a probable cause statement, he or she may refer the 35
offense to the appropriate prosecuting attorney. ] 36
3. [Notwithstanding the provisions of section 27.060, 37
56.060, or 56.430 to the contrary, when requested by the 38
prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney, the secretary of 39
state or his or her authorized representatives may aid any 40
prosecuting attorney or circuit attorney in the commencement 41
and prosecution of electio n offenses as provided in sections 42
115.629 to 115.646. 43
4. (1) The secretary of state may investigate any 44
suspected violation of any of the provisions of sections 45
115.629 to 115.646. 46
(2) (a) The secretary of state or an authorized 47
representative of the secretary of state ] (1) For the 48
purposes of this section, the office shall have the power to 49
require the production of books, papers, correspondence, 50 SB 724 3
memoranda, contracts, agreements, and other records by 51
subpoena or otherwise when nece ssary to conduct an 52
investigation under this section. [Such powers shall be 53
exercised only at the specific written direction of the 54
secretary of state or his or her chief deputy. ] 55
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, 56
investigators conducting an investigation into an alleged 57
violation of this chapter shall not be restricted from 58
entering a polling place or the office of the election 59
authority under investigation. 60
[(b)] (2) If any person refuses to comply with a 61
subpoena issued under subdivision (1) of this subsection, 62
the secretary of state may seek to enforce the subpoena 63
before a court of competent jurisdiction to require the 64
production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, 65
contracts, agreements, and other r ecords. The court may 66
issue an order requiring the person to produce records 67
relating to the matter under investigation or in question. 68
Any person who fails to comply with the order may be held in 69
contempt of court. 70
[(c) The provisions of this subdivision shall expire 71
on August 28, 2025.] 72
4. If, during the course of an investigation, the 73
office determines that there may be a violation of any 74
criminal law or a provision of this chapter, the findings of 75
the investigation shall be submitt ed to the attorney general 76
and the prosecuting or circuit attorney with jurisdiction 77
for further investigation or prosecution. This section 78
shall not limit the jurisdiction of any other office or 79
agency of the state to investigate violations of this 80
chapter or any rule adopted under this chapter. 81 SB 724 4
5. (1) Before January fifteenth of each year, the 82
office shall submit a report to the governor, the speaker of 83
the house of representatives, the president pro tempore of 84
the senate, and the house of representatives and senate 85
committees with jurisdiction over elections that details 86
each investigation of alleged violations of this chapter 87
conducted during the previous calendar year. The report 88
shall include the following: 89
(a) The total number of complaints received; 90
(b) The number of independent investigations initiated 91
or dismissed; and 92
(c) The number of complaints referred to another 93
agency for further investigation or prosecution. 94
(2) For each complaint or investigatio n listed in 95
subdivision (1) of this subsection, the report shall detail: 96
(a) The source of the alleged violation; 97
(b) The law or rule allegedly violated and the nature 98
of the alleged violation; 99
(c) The county in which the alleged violat ion occurred; 100
(d) Whether the alleged violation was dismissed or 101
referred to another agency for further investigation or 102
prosecution and if so, to which agency; and 103
(e) The current status of the investigation or 104
resulting criminal case. 105
6. The attorney general shall have statewide 106
investigative authority and shall have concurrent authority 107
with the appropriate prosecuting or circuit attorney over 108
all violations of the provisions of sections 115.629 to 109
115.646. 110
Section B. Section A of this act shall become 1
effective January 1, 2025. 2