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HB 1751

An Act establishing the Office of Employee Ownership within the Department of Community and Economic Development; establishing the Employee Ownership Advisory Board; establishing the Main Street Employee Ownership Grant Program; and providing technical and financial assistance to employee-owned enterprises.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Heather Boyd and 18 co-sponsors

Missouri HB 1751 would require party affiliation on ballots and tighten campaign finance rules for contributions and disclosure.

Referred to Commerce
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1751

Summary — HB 1751 (conflicted/multi-jurisdiction source)

Note on source: The text you provided appears to combine multiple different bills each labeled “HB 1751” from different states/sessions (notably Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, and Mississippi). The provisions dealing with political advertising and candidate filing/eligibility are found in the portion that would repeal and replace Missouri’s section 130.031 and add a new section 115.008. This summary therefore focuses on the election-related provisions in that Missouri draft and notes other, unrelated items present in the submission.

Purpose / intent

The Missouri-focused provisions aim to increase transparency about candidate party affiliation on ballots and to tighten rules on campaign contributions, expenditures, anonymous contributions, and disclosure of political advertising sponsors. The stated objective is to make candidate party status and the sources/uses of campaign funds clearer to voters and regulators.

Key provisions (election- and advertising-related)

  • Candidate party declaration (new 115.008)

    • All candidates for public office under the chapter must declare a political party affiliation.
    • The declared party must match the candidate’s voter registration.
    • The party affiliation will appear on the ballot next to the candidate’s name.
    • Candidates must notify the Missouri Ethics Commission of their party affiliation at declaration time.
    • Independent (no-party) declarations remain allowed.
    • Applies only to parties recognized by the State of Missouri at the time of declaration.

  • Campaign contribution and expenditure rules (replacement 130.031)

    • Cash contributions to committees/candidates: no single cash contribution over $100.
    • Payments/expenditures over $50 (other than in-kind) must be made by check signed by treasurer/deputy treasurer/candidate or by other electronic means authorized by the treasurer, and drawn on the committee depository; committees’ credit cards in the committee’s name are also authorized.
    • A single cash expenditure may not exceed $50; aggregate cash expenditures in a calendar year are capped at the lesser of $5,000 or 10% of the committee’s annual expenditures.
    • Prohibits contributions/expenditures made in fictitious names or designed to conceal source/recipient; persons making or receiving contributions/expenditures must disclose their name and address to committee treasurers.
    • Anonymous contributions: no anonymous contribution over $25 accepted; if returned or, if unidentifiable, the amount above $25 must be transmitted to the state treasurer to escheat.
    • Aggregate anonymous contributions per committee per year limited to the greater of $500 or 1% of the committee’s total contributions.
    • Fundraising-event exceptions for unidentifiable small-dollar participants subject to detailed conditions and required reporting (e.g., 25+ participants, announcement requirements, recordkeeping, event statement attachments).
    • Out-of-state committees: Missouri committees may not accept contributions from out-of-state committees unless those committees have filed organization statements or required reports with their home jurisdictions.

  • Printed matter / political advertising

    • The draft begins to require identification on the face of printed campaign materials of who published/circulated them. (Text truncated in source but indicates mandatory sponsor/discloser identification and likely related penalties.)

Who is affected

  • Candidates for public office (party declaration requirement; ballot display)
  • Political party organizations (recognition status relevant)
  • Campaign committees, continuing committees, exploratory committees, candidate committees (fundraising, reporting, and cash-handling rules)
  • Treasurers and deputy treasurers (recordkeeping, signing payments, reporting)
  • Contributors and fundraisers (limits, disclosure requirements)
  • Printers/media/distributors of campaign materials (disclosure obligations)
  • Voters (ballot information; transparency of funding)

Procedural/timeline notes

  • The source includes multiple legislative action items from different jurisdictions (introduced, committee referrals, amendments, readings, and some entries indicating approval/enrollment). Because the submission conflates several states’ HB 1751s, the final status of the Missouri-specific provisions should be verified in official Missouri legislative records or the Missouri Ethics Commission. The source contained an entry noting “Act 640” and governor approval dates, but it is unclear which jurisdiction that references.

Potential impacts / practical considerations

  • Greater transparency about party identity and money in politics.
  • Campaigns will need to shift more transactions off cash and improve bookkeeping.
  • Administrative burden increases for small committees and grassroots fundraisers (fundraising-event recordkeeping, returned anonymous funds).
  • Possible legal challenges could arise (e.g., compelled party-identification, limits on anonymous speech/donations), depending on final text and enforcement.

Recommendation: Because the text supplied merges different bills, confirm the jurisdiction (state) and obtain the enacted/enrolled version of HB 1751 for that state to review the final, authoritative language and effective dates.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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