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Bill

HB 2339

Establishes definitions that relate to the issuance of protective orders

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Raychel Proudie

The bill expands protective order definitions to include coercive control and pet abuse, enabling courts to grant orders for a wider range of domestic violence and related conduct.

Referred: Emerging Issues(H)
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Bill Summary · HB 2339

Purpose and scope

  • House Bill 2339 (HB 2339) from the Missouri 2026 session repeals sections 455.010 and 455.032 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) and enacts two new sections in their place, both designated as 455.010 and 455.032.
  • The bill focuses on definitions related to protective orders in cases involving domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, molestation, or abuse of a pet, and on the court’s jurisdiction to issue protective orders.

Key provisions

  • Definitions added or updated in Section 455.010:

    • Abusive conduct includes several acts (with notable exclusions):
    • Abusing a pet: intentionally harming, threatening to harm, or coercing a pet to control, punish, intimidate, or distress the petitioner.
    • Assault: placing or attempting to place another in fear of physical harm.
    • Battery: causing physical harm (with or without a deadly weapon).
    • Coercion: forcing someone to engage in conduct against their will or rights.
    • Harassment: a course of conduct involving more than one incident that alarms or distresses an adult or child, lacking a legitimate purpose, and causing substantial emotional distress.
      • Examples include following someone in public, peering into residences, and other coercive behaviors; protected activity does not include constitutionally protected activity.
    • Sexual assault: forcing or attempting to force a sexual act.
    • Unlawful imprisonment: holding or detaining someone against their will.
    • Coercive control (new defined concept): includes actions that unreasonably interfere with a person’s free will and personal liberty, such as:
    • Isolating from support networks
    • Depriving basic necessities
    • Controlling movements, communications, finances, or access to services
    • Using force, threats, or intimidation (including threats based on immigration status) to compel conduct the person has a right to abstain from.
    • Additional defined terms:
    • Adult, Child
    • Court
    • Disturbing the peace of the petitioner: conduct that destroys mental or emotional calm, potentially via multiple channels (including digital/online methods); may include coercive control.
    • Domestic violence, Ex parte order of protection, Family/household member, Full order of protection, Order of protection, Pending, Pet, Petitioner, Respondent, Sexual assault, Stalking (with details on alarm and course of conduct).

  • Definitions and clarifications in Section 455.032:

    • The court has jurisdiction to enter an order of protection restraining or enjoining a respondent from domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, molesting, disturbing the peace, or abusing a pet.
    • Jurisdiction applies when the petitioner is present in Missouri, whether permanently or temporarily, and the respondent’s acts occurred, occurred in part, or are threatened within Missouri.
    • Evidence of domestic violence occurring outside Missouri may be admissible to demonstrate the need for protection in Missouri.

Who is affected

  • Individuals seeking protective orders in Missouri (petitioner) and the respondents named in petitions.
  • Victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, or abuse of a pet (including adults and children).
  • Courts in Missouri that issue protective orders (circuit or associate circuit judges, or family court commissioners) and related staff.
  • Attorneys and advocates working on protective order cases, who rely on statutory definitions of abuse, coercive control, stalking, and related terms.

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • The bill changes the statutory framework by replacing two existing sections with updated language, effective upon enactment (pending passage and signing into law).
  • It enhances the definitional backdrop used in protective order proceedings, which can influence petition filings, evidentiary standards, and the scope of permissible orders (ex parte and full orders of protection).
  • The 455.032 jurisdiction provision clarifies Missouri’s authority to issue orders based on Missouri presence and potential acts within the state, including admissibility of external incidents to support protection claims.

Practical implications

  • Broadens the concept of harmful conduct to include coercive control and disturbing the peace with explicit references to digital and indirect methods of intimidation.
  • Explicitly recognizes protecting pets under protective orders when abuse or coercive actions toward a pet occur to manipulate or distress the petitioner.
  • May affect how prosecutors, judges, and domestic violence advocates evaluate evidence of abuse, stalking, or coercive control, including conduct that spans multiple incidents or cross-border contexts.

Sponsor and status

  • Primary sponsor: Representative Proudie (co-sponsor: Raychel Proudie).
  • Action history indicates introduction in 2025, with subsequent readings in 2026 and referral to Emerging Issues (H) as of May 15, 2026.

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

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