MO
Missouri Senate Bill SJR61

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SJR61 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
OldNewDifferences
11
22 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
33 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 61
44 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
55 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHNELTING.
66 3117S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
77 JOINT RESOLUTION
88 Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri, an amendment to article VIII of the Constitution of
99 Missouri, by adding thereto one new section relating to elections, with penalty
1010 provisions.
1111
1212 Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring therein:
1313 That at the next general election to be held in the 1
1414 state of Missouri, on Tuesday next following the first Monday 2
1515 in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by 3
1616 the governor for that purp ose, there is hereby submitted to 4
1717 the qualified voters of this state, for adoption or 5
1818 rejection, the following amendment to article VIII of the 6
1919 Constitution of the state of Missouri:7
2020 Section A. Article VIII, Constitution of Missouri, is 1
2121 amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as 2
2222 section 12, to read as follows:3
2323 Section 12. 1. This section shall be known as the 1
2424 "Securing Missouri's Future from Foreign Interference in 2
2525 Elections Amendment". 3
2626 2. The people of the stat e of Missouri hereby declare 4
2727 that it is the public policy of this state to secure the 5
2828 future of Missouri from foreign interference in elections, 6
2929 political campaigns, state sovereignty, and governance, and 7
3030 find that: 8
3131 (1) President George Washingto n, in his Farewell 9
3232 Address to the American People of the United States in 1796, 10 SJR 61 2
3333 warned of foreign powers which "practice the arts of 11
3434 seduction, to mislead public opinion ... Against the 12
3535 insidious wiles of foreign influence ... a free people ought 13
3636 to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove 14
3737 that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of 15
3838 republican government". 16
3939 (2) President John Adams, in his inaugural speech to 17
4040 the American people in 1797, warned of being "unfaithful to 18
4141 ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our 19
4242 liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect 20
4343 the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent 21
4444 elections". President Adams noted specifically that through 22
4545 interference "by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by 23
4646 fraud or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the 24
4747 Government may not be the choice of the American people, but 25
4848 of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern 26
4949 us, and not we, the people, w ho govern ourselves". 27
5050 (3) Restrictions on foreign election spending or 28
5151 interference of any kind are necessary to secure our borders 29
5252 and keep American democracy safe from foreign adversaries. 30
5353 (4) Limits on illicit foreign campaign contribution s 31
5454 can help stop money laundering, vote -buying, bribery, and 32
5555 other attempts to manipulate elections and the voters who 33
5656 participate in them and to corrupt lobbyists and public 34
5757 officials. 35
5858 (5) Restraints on foreign actors and foreign 36
5959 interests, and those conspiring or otherwise acting in 37
6060 concert with them, must be enacted into law to prevent 38
6161 direct or indirect foreign influence on elections, political 39
6262 campaigns, state sovereignty, and governance. 40
6363 3. The general assembly is authorized to enac t laws in 41
6464 furtherance of this public policy and these findings. The 42 SJR 61 3
6565 provisions of this section and any laws enacted under the 43
6666 authority of this section shall be liberally construed to 44
6767 promote this public policy and these findings, which are 45
6868 embedded in the right of suffrage as a fundamental article 46
6969 of republican government, rooted in democratic self - 47
7070 governance, and motivated by the need to protect national 48
7171 and state sovereignty and security. 49
7272 4. It shall be unlawful for a foreign government, a 50
7373 foreign political party, an individual who is not a citizen 51
7474 of the United States of America, or any other foreign 52
7575 national as defined by law to directly or indirectly make a 53
7676 payment, gift, loan, advance, deposit, or donation of money 54
7777 or anything of value for the purpose of: 55
7878 (1) Supporting or opposing the nomination or election 56
7979 of any candidate for public office; 57
8080 (2) Supporting or opposing the drafting, 58
8181 qualification, passage, or defeat of any statewide or local 59
8282 ballot measure; 60
8383 (3) Supporting or opposing the nomination, election, 61
8484 or retention of any judicial candidate or judge; 62
8585 (4) Supporting or opposing the election or appointment 63
8686 of any delegate to a constitutional convention, a civil or 64
8787 military officer position, or any other public official who 65
8888 is required by this constitution or by the laws of this 66
8989 state to take an oath or affirmation to support or uphold 67
9090 the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution 68
9191 of Missouri; 69
9292 (5) Supporting or opposing any pol itical party, 70
9393 officer or employee of a political party, or candidate for 71
9494 or member of a political party committee; 72
9595 (6) Supporting any committee that is supporting or 73
9696 opposing candidates, ballot measures, judicial candidates, 74 SJR 61 4
9797 judges, any other pub lic officials or civil or military 75
9898 officers, political parties, political party officers or 76
9999 employees, or political party committee candidates or 77
100100 members; 78
101101 (7) Paying the debts or obligations of any candidate, 79
102102 ballot measure, judicial candidate, j udge, any other public 80
103103 official or civil or military officer, political party, 81
104104 political party officer or employee, political party 82
105105 committee candidate or member, or campaign committee 83
106106 previously incurred for the purpose of subdivisions (1) to 84
107107 (6) of this subsection; or 85
108108 (8) Making an electioneering communication, whether 86
109109 print, broadcast, or digital media, or otherwise, in any 87
110110 state or local election. 88
111111 5. If any lobbyist knowingly, willfully, corruptly, or 89
112112 fraudulently assists a foreign g overnment, a foreign 90
113113 political party, an individual who is not a citizen of the 91
114114 United States of America, or any other foreign national as 92
115115 defined by law to violate any of the provisions of this 93
116116 section or any law enacted under the authority of this 94
117117 section, then such lobbyist's registration shall be revoked 95
118118 or suspended by the state, and such lobbyist shall be 96
119119 prohibited from receiving compensation or making 97
120120 expenditures for lobbying. If such knowing, willful, 98
121121 corrupt, or fraudulent assistance in volved a state sponsor 99
122122 of terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization, as defined 100
123123 by law, then such lobbyist shall also be guilty of a felony 101
124124 and shall be punished as provided by law enacted by the 102
125125 general assembly. 103
126126 6. Knowingly, willfully, cor ruptly, or fraudulently 104
127127 assisting a foreign government, a foreign political party, 105
128128 an individual who is not a citizen of the United States of 106 SJR 61 5
129129 America, or any other foreign national to violate any of the 107
130130 provisions of this section or any law enacted und er the 108
131131 authority of this section, including but not limited to 109
132132 accepting or concealing illegal foreign money or bribes from 110
133133 foreign interests, shall be an impeachable offense if such 111
134134 public official is liable to impeachment pursuant to Article 112
135135 VII, Section 1 of this constitution or if the officer is not 113
136136 liable to impeachment, it shall be cause for removal from 114
137137 office in the manner provided by law. Beginning January 1, 115
138138 2027, any such public official who is removed or impeached 116
139139 for such violation sh all be disqualified from receiving any 117
140140 pension and retirement benefits from the state of Missouri. 118
141141 If such knowing, willful, corrupt, or fraudulent assistance 119
142142 involved a state sponsor of terrorism or a foreign terrorist 120
143143 organization, then such public official shall also be guilty 121
144144 of a felony and shall be punished as provided by law enacted 122
145145 by the general assembly. 123
146146 7. In addition to the restrictions on the use of the 124
147147 initiative and referendum in other provisions of this 125
148148 constitution, an initia tive or referendum petition shall not 126
149149 be used to: 127
150150 (1) Permit foreign interference in elections; 128
151151 (2) Repeal, supersede, or subvert any laws of the 129
152152 United States, provisions of this constitution, or laws of 130
153153 this state that prohibit a person wh o is not a citizen of 131
154154 the United States from voting in elections in this state; 132
155155 (3) Repeal, supersede, or subvert any provisions of 133
156156 this constitution or laws of this state that prohibit a 134
157157 person who is not a citizen of the United States from being 135
158158 elected or appointed to any civil or military office in this 136
159159 state; 137 SJR 61 6
160160 (4) Eliminate, reduce, deny, or withhold the 138
161161 appropriation of money or other public funds to any law 139
162162 enforcement agency, the Missouri Department of the National 140
163163 Guard, first responders, or any governmental agency of this 141
164164 state that functions to protect Missouri's borders or to 142
165165 otherwise keep the peace and provide internal security 143
166166 within the borders of this state; 144
167167 (5) Allow the purchase of farmland in Missouri by 145
168168 foreign interests; 146
169169 (6) Authorize the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or 147
170170 lease of any real estate by or to foreign interests that is 148
171171 near a military installation that is located within the 149
172172 state or outside the state but close to Missouri's borders; 150
173173 or 151
174174 (7) Pose a threat to national or state security, 152
175175 weakening the borders of the United States or Missouri, or 153
176176 damaging or destroying the future, growth, or safety of the 154
177177 state, the citizens or residents of the state, or the 155
178178 children within the st ate, as set forth by concurrent 156
179179 resolution approved by the general assembly, which need not 157
180180 be presented to the governor for approval, or by law enacted 158
181181 by the general assembly. 159
182182 8. To the greatest extent possible, election 160
183183 infrastructure used in state and local elections, including 161
184184 but not limited to voter registration databases, voting 162
185185 machines, voting tabulation equipment, and equipment for the 163
186186 secure transmission of election results shall be sourced, 164
187187 manufactured, and assembled in the Unite d States. This is 165
188188 to promote election integrity and help restore public trust 166
189189 in elections by ensuring that election information and 167
190190 information systems are immune from unauthorized access, 168
191191 use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction by 169 SJR 61 7
192192 foreign adversaries or others. The general assembly shall 170
193193 enact such laws and may make such appropriations necessary 171
194194 to enforce and assist in these and other state and local 172
195195 election integrity efforts. 173
196196 9. The secretary of state shall determine a nd declare 174
197197 for each statewide initiative and referendum petition 175
198198 whether it complies with the provisions of this section or 176
199199 other provisions of this constitution, law, or concurrent 177
200200 resolution restricting the use of the initiative and 178
201201 referendum. If a proposed statewide initiative or 179
202202 referendum petition does not comply, the secretary of state 180
203203 shall remove it from consideration for signature gathering 181
204204 and placement on the ballot, stating the reason or reasons 182
205205 why it was removed. If a proposed constitutional amendment 183
206206 submitted by initiative petition or a proposed law submitted 184
207207 by an initiative or referendum petition has been approved 185
208208 for placement on the ballot, and if based on information 186
209209 that the secretary of state obtains or receives after s uch 187
210210 placement that it does not comply with the provisions of 188
211211 this section or other provisions of this constitution, law, 189
212212 or concurrent resolution restricting the use of the 190
213213 initiative and referendum, then the secretary of state shall 191
214214 remove such proposed constitutional amendment or law from 192
215215 the ballot prior to it being voted on, stating the reason or 193
216216 reasons why it was removed. Any local initiative or 194
217217 referendum measure that does not comply with the provisions 195
218218 of this section or other provisions o f this constitution, 196
219219 law, or concurrent resolution restricting the use of the 197
220220 initiative and referendum shall be removed as provided by 198
221221 law enacted by the general assembly. 199
222222 10. For all constitutional amendments submitted by 200
223223 initiative petition or laws submitted by an initiative or 201 SJR 61 8
224224 referendum petition which were enacted into this 202
225225 constitution or law on or after the general election held in 203
226226 November, 2024, and on or before thirty -one days after this 204
227227 section is approved by the voters of Missouri, the secretary 205
228228 of state shall determine and declare whether a foreign 206
229229 government, a foreign political party, an individual who is 207
230230 not a citizen of the United States of America, or any other 208
231231 foreign national as defined by law directly or indirectly 209
232232 made a significant payment, gift, loan, advance, deposit, or 210
233233 donation of money or anything of value for the purpose of 211
234234 supporting the drafting, qualification, or passage of such 212
235235 initiative or referendum measure. If the secretary of state 213
236236 determines that such significant support did occur, then the 214
237237 secretary of state shall declare that such constitutional 215
238238 amendment or law is annulled and repealed. If such 216
239239 constitutional amendment or law, in whole or in part, was 217
240240 the repeal and reenactment of a previou sly enacted provision 218
241241 or provisions of this constitution or law, then the 219
242242 previously enacted provision or provisions of this 220
243243 constitution or law shall be reinstated and shall be in full 221
244244 force and effect. 222
245245 11. The general assembly shall have exclus ive 223
246246 authority to enact laws enforcing provisions in this 224
247247 constitution relating to election integrity, foreign 225
248248 interference in elections and campaigns, and voting only by 226
249249 citizens of the United States in elections in this state. 227
250250 Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other 1
251251 applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state 2
252252 allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for 3
253253 the submission of this joint resolution to the voters of 4
254254 this state, the official summary s tatement of this 5
255255 resolution shall be as follows: 6 SJR 61 9
256256 "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: 7
257257 • Prevent foreign election interference; 8
258258 • Punish lobbyists and public officials who take 9
259259 money or bribes from foreign adversaries or 10
260260 assist them; 11
261261 • Protect election integrity by using U.S. -made 12
262262 election equipment and allowing only U.S. 13
263263 citizens to hold public office; and 14
264264 • Prohibit foreign-funded ballot measures?". 15
265265 Section C. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other 1
266266 applicable constitutional provisions and laws of this state 2
267267 allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for 3
268268 the submission of this joint resolution to the voters of 4
269269 this state, the official fiscal note statement of this 5
270270 resolution shall be as follows: 6
271271 "State and local governmental entities might 7
272272 have costs when safeguarding election integrity 8
273273 and infrastructure from foreign attacks. 9
274274 Governmental entities might have savings by not 10
275275 paying pensions and retirement to public 11
276276 officials who unlawfully took money or bri bes 12
277277 from foreign adversaries. There are unknown 13
278278 costs or savings in securing Missouri's 14
279279 borders.". 15
280280