HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 102 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE BAKER.
3208H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
JOINT RESOLUTION Submitting to the qualified voters of Missouri an amendment to Article VIII of the Constitution of Missouri, by adopting one new section relating to elections, with penalty provisions.
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring therein:
That at the next general election to be held in the state of Missouri, on Tuesday next 2 following the first Monday in November, 2026, or at a special election to be called by the 3 governor for that purpose, there is hereby submitted to the qualified voters of this state, for 4 adoption or rejection, the following amendment to Article VIII of the Constitution of the state 5 of Missouri: Section A. Article VIII, Constitution of Missouri, is amended by adopting one new 2 section, to be known as Section 12, to read as follows: Section 12. 1. This section shall be known as the "Securing Missouri's Future 2 from Foreign Interference in Elections Amendment". 3 2. The people of the state of Missouri hereby declare that it is the public policy of 4 this state to secure the future of Missouri from foreign interference in elections, political 5 campaigns, state sovereignty, and governance, and find that: 6 (1) President George Washington, in his Farewell Address to the American 7 people in 1796, warned of foreign powers which "practice the arts of seduction, to 8 mislead public opinion ... Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence ... a free people
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HJR 102 2
9 ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence 10 is one of the most baneful foes of republican government". 11 (2) President John Adams, in his Inaugural Speech to the American people in 12 1797, warned of being "unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger 13 to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, 14 virtuous, and independent elections". President Adams noted specifically that through 15 interference "by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by fraud or violence, by terror, 16 intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but 17 of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who 18 govern ourselves". 19 (3) Restrictions on foreign election spending or interference of any kind are 20 necessary to secure our borders and keep American democracy safe from foreign 21 adversaries. 22 (4) Limits on illicit foreign campaign contributions can help stop money 23 laundering, vote-buying, bribery, and other attempts to manipulate elections and the 24 voters who participate in them and to corrupt lobbyists and public officials. 25 (5) Restraints on foreign actors and foreign interests, and those conspiring or 26 otherwise acting in concert with them, must be enacted into law to prevent direct or 27 indirect foreign influence on elections, political campaigns, state sovereignty, and 28 governance. 29 3. The general assembly is authorized to enact laws in furtherance of this public 30 policy and these findings. The provisions of this section and any laws enacted under the 31 authority of this section shall be liberally construed to promote this public policy and 32 these findings, which are embedded in the right of suffrage as a fundamental article of 33 republican government, rooted in democratic self- governance, and motivated by the 34 need to protect national and state sovereignty and security. 35 4. It shall be unlawful for a foreign government, a foreign political party, an 36 individual who is not a citizen of the United States of America, or any other foreign 37 national as defined by law to directly or indirectly make a payment, gift, loan, advance, 38 deposit, or donation of money or anything of value for the purpose of: 39 (1) Supporting or opposing the nomination or election of any candidate for 40 public office; 41 (2) Supporting or opposing the drafting, qualification, passage, or defeat of any 42 statewide or local ballot measure; 43 (3) Supporting or opposing the nomination, election or retention of any judicial 44 candidate or judge; HJR 102 3
45 (4) Supporting or opposing the election or appointment of any delegate to a 46 constitutional convention, a civil or military officer position, or any other public official 47 who is required by this constitution or by the laws of this state to take an oath or 48 affirmation to support or uphold the Constitution of the United States and the 49 Constitution of Missouri; 50 (5) Supporting or opposing any political party, officer or employee of a political 51 party, or candidate for or member of a political party committee; 52 (6) Supporting any committee that is supporting or opposing candidates, ballot 53 measures, judicial candidates, judges, any other public officials or civil or military 54 officers, political parties, political party officers or employees, or political party 55 committee candidates or members; 56 (7) Paying the debts or obligations of any candidate, ballot measure, judicial 57 candidate, judge, any other public official or civil or military officer, political party, 58 political party officer or employee, political party committee candidate or member, or 59 campaign committee previously incurred for the purpose of subdivisions (1) to (6) of this 60 subsection; or 61 (8) Making an electioneering communication, whether print, broadcast, or 62 digital media, or otherwise, in any state or local election. 63 5. If any lobbyist knowingly, willfully, corruptly, or fraudulently assists a foreign 64 government, a foreign political party, an individual who is not a citizen of the United 65 States of America, or any other foreign national as defined by law to violate any of the 66 provisions of this section or any law enacted under the authority of this section, then 67 such lobbyist's registration shall be revoked or suspended by the state, and such lobbyist 68 shall be prohibited from receiving compensation or making expenditures for lobbying. 69 If such knowing, willful, corrupt, or fraudulent assistance involved a state sponsor of 70 terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization, as defined by law, then such lobbyist shall 71 also be guilty of a felony and shall be punished as provided by law enacted by the 72 general assembly. 73 6. Knowingly, willfully, corruptly, or fraudulently assisting a foreign 74 government, a foreign political party, an individual who is not a citizen of the United 75 States of America, or any other foreign national to violate any of the provisions of this 76 section or any law enacted under the authority of this section, including but not limited 77 to accepting or concealing illegal foreign money or bribes from foreign interests, shall be 78 an impeachable offense if such public official is liable to impeachment pursuant to 79 Article VII, Section 1 of this constitution or if the officer is not liable to impeachment, it 80 shall be cause for removal from office in the manner provided by law. Beginning 81 January 1, 2027, any such public official who is removed or impeached for such HJR 102 4
82 violation shall be disqualified from receiving any pension and retirement benefits from 83 the state of Missouri. If such knowing, willful, corrupt, or fraudulent assistance 84 involved a state sponsor of terrorism or a foreign terrorist organization, then such 85 public official shall also be guilty of a felony and shall be punished as provided by law 86 enacted by the general assembly. 87 7. In addition to the restrictions on the use of the initiative and referendum in 88 other provisions of this constitution, an initiative or referendum petition shall not be 89 used to: 90 (1) Permit foreign interference in elections; 91 (2) Repeal, supersede, or subvert any laws of the United States, provisions of this 92 constitution, or laws of this state that prohibit a person who is not a citizen of the United 93 States from voting in elections in this state; 94 (3) Repeal, supersede, or subvert any provisions of this constitution or laws of 95 this state that prohibit a person who is not a citizen of the United States from being 96 elected or appointed to any civil or military office in this state; 97 (4) Eliminate, reduce, deny, or withhold the appropriation of money or other 98 public funds to any law enforcement agency, the Missouri Department of the National 99 Guard, first responders, or any governmental agency of this state that functions to 100 protect Missouri's borders or to otherwise keep the peace and provide internal security 101 within the borders of this state; 102 (5) Allow the purchase of farmland in Missouri by foreign interests; 103 (6) Authorize the sale, exchange, purchase, rental, or lease of any real estate by 104 or to foreign interests that is near a military installation that is located within the state 105 or outside the state but close to Missouri's borders; or 106 (7) Pose a threat to national or state security, weakening the borders of the 107 United States or Missouri, or damaging or destroying the future, growth, or safety of the 108 state, the citizens or residents of the state, or the children within the state, as set forth by 109 concurrent resolution approved by the general assembly, which need not be presented to 110 the governor for approval, or by law enacted by the general assembly. 111 8. To the greatest extent possible, election infrastructure used in state and local 112 elections, including but not limited to voter registration databases, voting machines, 113 voting tabulation equipment, and equipment for the secure transmission of election 114 results shall be sourced, manufactured, and assembled in the United States. This is to 115 promote election integrity and help restore public trust in elections by ensuring that 116 election information and information systems are immune from unauthorized access, 117 use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction by foreign adversaries or others. 118 The general assembly shall enact such laws and may make such appropriations HJR 102 5
119 necessary to enforce and assist in these and other state and local election integrity 120 efforts. 121 9. The secretary of state shall determine and declare for each statewide initiative 122 and referendum petition whether it complies with the provisions of this section or other 123 provisions of this constitution, law, or concurrent resolution restricting the use of the 124 initiative and referendum. If a proposed statewide initiative or referendum petition 125 does not comply, the secretary of state shall remove it from consideration for signature 126 gathering and placement on the ballot, stating the reason or reasons why it was 127 removed. If a proposed constitutional amendment submitted by initiative petition or a 128 proposed law submitted by an initiative or referendum petition has been approved for 129 placement on the ballot, and if based on information that the secretary of state obtains 130 or receives after such placement that it does not comply with the provisions of this 131 section or other provisions of this constitution, law, or concurrent resolution restricting 132 the use of the initiative and referendum, then the secretary of state shall remove such 133 proposed constitutional amendment or law from the ballot prior to it being voted on, 134 stating the reason or reasons why it was removed. Any local initiative or referendum 135 measure that does not comply with the provisions of this section or other provisions of 136 this constitution, law, or concurrent resolution restricting the use of the initiative and 137 referendum shall be removed as provided by law enacted by the general assembly. 138 10. For all constitutional amendments submitted by initiative petition or laws 139 submitted by an initiative or referendum petition which were enacted into this 140 constitution or law on or after the general election held in November, 2024, and on or 141 before thirty-one days after this section is approved by the voters of Missouri, the 142 secretary of state shall determine and declare whether a foreign government, a foreign 143 political party, an individual who is not a citizen of the United States of America, or any 144 other foreign national as defined by law directly or indirectly made a significant 145 payment, gift, loan, advance, deposit, or donation of money or anything of value for the 146 purpose of supporting the drafting, qualification, or passage of such initiative or 147 referendum measure. If the secretary of state determines that such significant support 148 did occur, then the secretary of state shall declare that such constitutional amendment 149 or law is annulled and repealed. If such constitutional amendment or law, in whole or in 150 part, was the repeal and reenactment of a previously enacted provision or provisions of 151 this constitution or law, then the previously enacted provision or provisions of this 152 constitution or law shall be reinstated and shall be in full force and effect. 153 11. The general assembly shall have exclusive authority to enact laws enforcing 154 provisions in this constitution relating to election integrity, foreign interference in HJR 102 6
155 elections and campaigns, and voting only by citizens of the United States in elections in 156 this state. Section B. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other applicable constitutional provisions and 2 laws of this state allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for the submission of 3 this joint resolution to the voters of this state, the official summary statement of this 4 resolution shall be as follows: 5 "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to: 6 • Prevent foreign election interference; 7 • Punish lobbyists and public officials who take money or bribes from foreign 8 adversaries or assist them; 9 • Protect election integrity by using U.S.-made election equipment and allowing only 10 U.S. citizens to hold public office; and 11 • Prohibit foreign-funded ballot measures?". Section C. Pursuant to chapter 116, and other applicable constitutional provisions and 2 laws of this state allowing the general assembly to adopt ballot language for the submission of 3 this joint resolution to the voters of this state, the official fiscal note statement of this 4 resolution shall be as follows: 5 • "State and local governmental entities might have costs when safeguarding election 6 integrity and infrastructure from foreign attacks. Governmental entities might have savings by 7 not paying pensions and retirement to public officials who unlawfully took money or bribes 8 from foreign adversaries. There are unknown costs or savings in securing Missouri's 9 borders.". ✔