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Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri prohibits government entities from granting legal personhood to non-human entities, AI, and nature
Last action · May 15, 2026: Referred: Emerging Issues(H)Sponsor: Mazzie Christensen
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What This Bill Would Do
Missouri House Bill 2286 prohibits any state court, legislature, or local government entity from granting or recognizing for artificial intelligence, inanimate objects, bodies of water, land, weather, plants, or non-human animals.
The measure establishes a statewide restriction preventing local jurisdictions or courts from extending legal rights and obligations traditionally reserved for human beings to natural resources, technology, or animals.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
governmental entity
State and local bodies, including courts and political subdivisions, are restricted from granting legal personhood to specified non-human entities.
Key Facts
- Prohibits governmental entities from granting or recognizing legal personhood for artificial intelligence.
- Bans the extension of legal personhood to inanimate objects, bodies of water, land, and real property.
- Prohibits granting legal personhood to atmospheric gases, astronomical objects, and weather.
- Bars the recognition of legal personhood for plants, non-human animals, and any non-human taxonomic species.
Show all 5 facts
- Defines a governmental entity to include courts, the general assembly, and legislative bodies of political subdivisions with adjudicatory or rulemaking authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is prohibited from granting legal personhood under this bill?
Are non-human animals covered by the prohibition?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- May 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 9, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy55Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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