Bill > SB788

This bill amends Missouri's public records law to add a new provision that allows public governmental bodies to close records that reveal the specific location of certain plant and animal species considered endangered, threatened, critically imperiled, imperiled, or vulnerable. The purpose of this provision is to protect these species from potential harm by preventing the disclosure of their exact geographical locations, which could expose them to increased risk. By keeping these location details confidential, the bill aims to safeguard vulnerable plant and animal populations from threats such as poaching, habitat destruction, or other human-induced dangers. The new provision (section 27) is added to an existing list of exceptions to public disclosure requirements in Missouri's sunshine law, which already includes numerous other categories of records that can be kept confidential, such as legal communications, personnel records, and security-related information. This change represents a modest but meaningful effort to protect biodiversity by limiting public access to sensitive ecological information that could potentially endanger at-risk species.

Agriculture and Natural Resources

https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=6475409