FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 272
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BLACK.
1026S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapters 34 and 431, RSMo, by adding thereto two new sections relating to prohibited
business practices of entities doing business in this state, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapters 34 and 431, RSMo, are amended by 1
adding thereto two new sections, to be known as sections 34.650 2
and 431.205, to read as follows:3
34.650. 1. A public entity shall not enter into a 1
contract with a company to acquire or dispose of services, 2
supplies, information technology, or construction unless the 3
contract includes a written certification that the company 4
is not currently engaged in and shall not, for the duration 5
of the contract, engage in any kind of economic boycott. 6
This section shall not apply to contracts with a total 7
potential value of less than one hundred thousand dollars or 8
to contractors with fewer than ten employees. 9
2. As used in this section, the following terms and 10
phrases mean: 11
(1) "Company", any for-profit or not-for-profit 12
organization, association, corporation, partnership, joint 13
venture, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, 14
limited liability company, or other entity or business 15
association, including all wholly owned subsidiaries, 16
majority-owned subsidiaries, parent companies, or affiliates 17
of those entities or business associations; 18 SB 272 2
(2) "Economic boycott", refusing to deal with, 19
terminating business activities with, or otherwise taking 20
any commercial action that is intended to penalize, inflict 21
economic harm on, limit commercial relations with, or change 22
or limit the activities of a company because the company, 23
without violating controlling federal or state law: 24
(a) Engages in the exploration, production, 25
utilization, transportation, sale, or manufacturing of, 26
fossil fuel-based energy, timber, mining, or agriculture; 27
(b) Engages in, facilitates, or supports the 28
manufacture, import, distribution, marketing or advertising, 29
sale, or lawful use of firearms, ammunition, or component 30
parts and accessories of firearms or ammunition; 31
(c) Does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does 32
not commit to meet environmental standards or disclosure 33
criteria, in particular to elimin ate, reduce, offset, or 34
disclose greenhouse gas emissions; 35
(d) Does not meet, is not expected to meet, or does 36
not commit to meet any specified criteria with respect to 37
the compensation and composition of the company's corporate 38
board and the employees of the company; 39
(e) Does not facilitate, is not expected to 40
facilitate, or does not commit to facilitate access to 41
abortion, sex or gender change, or transgender surgery or 42
medical treatments; or 43
(f) Does business with a company that engages in or 44
does not meet one or more of the criteria listed in 45
paragraphs (a) to (e) of this subdivision. 46
(3) "Public entity", the state of Missouri or any 47
political subdivision thereof, including all boards, 48
commissions, agencies, institution s, authorities, and bodies 49 SB 272 3
politic and corporate of the state created by or in 50
accordance with state law or regulations. 51
3. Any contract that fails to comply with the 52
provisions of this section shall be void against public 53
policy. 54
4. (1) This section, or any contract subject to this 55
section, may be enforced by the attorney general. 56
(2) If the attorney general has reasonable cause to 57
believe that a person has engaged in, is engaging in, or is 58
about to engage in, a violation of this section, he or she 59
may: 60
(a) Require such person to file on such forms as the 61
attorney general prescribes a statement or report in 62
writing, under oath, as to all the facts and circumstances 63
concerning the violation, and such other data and 64
information as deemed necessary; 65
(b) Examine under oath any person in connection with 66
the violation; 67
(c) Examine any record, book, document, account, or 68
paper as deemed necessary; and 69
(d) Pursuant to an order of a circuit court, impound 70
any record, book, document, account, paper, sample, or 71
material relating to such practice and retain the same in 72
his or her possession until the completion of all 73
proceedings undertaken under this section or in the courts. 74
(3) In addition to any other remedies available at law 75
or equity, a company that enters into a contract with a 76
public entity that is subject to this section and engages in 77
any economic boycott during the term of the contract shall 78
be obligated to pay damages to the state in an am ount equal 79
to three times all monies paid to the company under the 80
contract. 81 SB 272 4
5. (1) Any person injured as a result of any 82
violation or threatened violation of this section shall have 83
a cause of action in the circuit court of Cole County and 84
shall be entitled to injunctive relief against any and all 85
violators or persons threatening violations. 86
(2) Any person injured as a result of any violation or 87
threatened violation of this section may recover any and all 88
damages of any character resul ting from such violation or 89
threatened violation including costs and reasonable attorney 90
fees. Such remedies shall be independent of and in addition 91
to the other penalties and remedies prescribed under this 92
section. 93
6. The commissioner of admini stration may promulgate 94
regulations to implement the provisions of this section, so 95
long as they are consistent with this section and do not 96
create any exceptions. Any rule or portion of a rule, as 97
that term is defined in section 536.010, that is crea ted 98
under the authority of this section shall become effective 99
only if it complies with and is subject to all of the 100
provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 101
536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and 102
if any of the powers vested with the general assembly 103
pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective 104
date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently 105
held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking 106
authority and any rule proposed or adopted after Au gust 28, 107
2025, shall be invalid and void. 108
431.205. 1. It shall be an unlawful business practice 1
for any private business, in entering into, maintaining, or 2
seeking to establish contractual relations with any other 3
private business to: 4 SB 272 5
(1) Fail or refuse to enter into a contract, maintain 5
a contract, or entertain bids or offers to contract, based, 6
in whole or in part, on the fact that the other private 7
business: 8
(a) Does not provide information or data, or does not 9
provide sufficient information or data, about the extent to 10
which its workforce or ownership exhibit particular DEI 11
classifications; or 12
(b) Fails to satisfy any rule, standard, policy, goal, 13
aspiration, or preference, whether express or implied, 14
regarding the extent to which its workforce, managers, 15
executives, or ownership exhibit or claim to exhibit 16
particular DEI classifications; 17
(2) (a) Consider: 18
a. Whether the owners, controllers, officers, or 19
employees of the other private busi ness exhibit or claim to 20
exhibit particular DEI classifications; or 21
b. Whether the other private business has adopted or 22
endorsed any particular policy or practice that promotes the 23
hiring and promotion of employees based on the fact that 24
those employees or prospective employees exhibit or claim to 25
exhibit particular DEI classifications; 26
(b) The act of considering one of the factors 27
described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be an 28
unlawful business practice pursuant to this sect ion if it 29
meets any of the following: 30
a. If it is only one criterion among many other 31
criteria; 32
b. If it is treated as a dispositive criterion in 33
making a decision; and 34
c. If it is part of an express or implied scoring or 35
grading system; 36 SB 272 6
(3) Require or suggest that individuals exhibiting 37
particular DEI classifications, because of their DEI 38
classifications, work on the contract or have particular 39
roles in performing the contract, or require or suggest that 40
a particular quota o r percentage of individuals working on 41
the performance of a contract exhibit one or more particular 42
DEI classifications; or 43
(4) Require or suggest that any other contracting 44
party provide data regarding the extent to which its 45
workforce, managers, executives, or ownership exhibit or 46
claim to exhibit particular DEI classifications. 47
2. For purposes of this section, the following terms 48
mean: 49
(1) "Private business", any individual, partnership, 50
company, or corporation engaging in commer ce, manufacturing, 51
or services; 52
(2) "DEI classifications", race, ethnicity, 53
nationality, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, 54
gender, or gender identity. 55
3. The act of requesting information from a current or 56
prospective contracti ng party that is related to DEI 57
classifications is not alone sufficient to establish a 58
violation of this section, but may provide circumstantial 59
evidence of a violation. 60
4. This section shall apply: 61
(1) To any act relating to a contract that is 62
solicited, bid, negotiated, or to be substantially performed 63
in Missouri; or 64
(2) To any party to a contract, solicitation, or bid 65
that is incorporated under the laws of Missouri or that has 66
its principal place of business in Missouri. 67
5. This section shall not apply: 68 SB 272 7
(1) To the decision to employ an individual or to 69
discharge an individual from employment; 70
(2) To any depository institution, trust company, 71
licensee, or person subject to the jurisdiction of the 72
United States Securities Exchange Commission, Federal 73
Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or 74
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the Missouri 75
securities division within secretary of state; 76
(3) To any action of a private business necessary to 77
comply with an order or judgment from any federal court 78
enforcing any provision of federal law; and 79
(4) To any action of a private business necessary to 80
comply with the requirements of federal law pertaining to 81
businesses that: 82
(a) Enter into contracts with the federal government; 83
or 84
(b) Enter into other public contracts. 85
6. (1) A civil action for violation of this section 86
may be brought in any circuit court in any county in which 87
the unlawful business practice is alleged to have been 88
committed. 89
(2) Any action brought in court pursuant to this 90
section shall be filed within two years after the alleged 91
unlawful business practice occurred or its reasonable 92
discovery by the alleged injured party. 93
(3) The court may grant as relief, as it deems 94
appropriate, any permanent or temporary injunction, 95
temporary restraining order, or other order, and may award 96
to the plaintiff actual and punitive damages, and may award 97
court costs and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing 98
party, other than a state agency or commission or a local 99
commission. A prevailing respondent may be awarded 100 SB 272 8
reasonable attorney fees only upon a showing that the case 101
was without foundation. 102
(4) Any party to any action initiated unde r this 103
section has a right to a trial by jury. 104
(5) In any civil action brought pursuant to this 105
section, the plaintiff shall bear the burden of proving the 106
alleged unlawful practice was the direct proximate cause of 107
the claimed damages. 108
7. Whenever the attorney general has a reasonable 109
cause to believe that any private business or group of 110
private businesses is engaged in an unlawful business 111
practice prohibited by this section, any or all of the 112
following actions may be taken: 113
(1) A civil investigative demand may be issued to any 114
person who may have relevant information. Any civil 115
investigative demand shall be issued in the same manner 116
required by section 407.040 and shall be subject to the same 117
requirements and restrictions a s are required by sections 118
407.005 to 407.315, to the extent such requirements and 119
restrictions are not inconsistent with this section; 120
(2) A civil action may be brought in the circuit court 121
of Cole County by filing a complaint setting forth the f acts 122
and requesting any one or more of the following remedies: 123
(a) Preventive relief, including, but not limited to, 124
an application for a permanent or temporary injunction, 125
restraining order, or other order against the person or 126
persons responsible for such unlawful business practice; 127
(b) Civil penalties in the amount of ten thousand 128
dollars per violation; and 129
(c) The award of the costs of investigation. 130