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HB 1780MISSOURISession 2026State Billin committee
High Impact

Missouri House Bill 1780 authorizes lawsuits and penalties against parties bringing abusive website accessibility litigation

Original title: ABUSIVE WEBSITE ACCESS LITIGATION

Last action · January 22, 2026: HCS Reported Do Pass (H)Sponsors: John Voss and 2 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
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What This Bill Would Do

Missouri House Bill 1780 establishes the 'Act Against Abusive Website Access Litigation,' allowing residents and the attorney general to sue parties or law firms initiating frivolous website accessibility lawsuits. The measure sets a 30-day window for defendants to correct alleged violations to trigger a presumption of abusive litigation, and allows courts to award attorney's fees and punitive damages up to three times those fees.

Why it matters

Missouri business owners facing website accessibility lawsuits gain the legal standing to countersue initiators for abusive litigation, potentially recovering defense costs and receiving punitive damages if courts determine the primary purpose was extracting settlement payments.

Background
  • Website accessibility lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act have frequently targeted businesses over digital compliance, prompting legislative efforts across various states to curb litigation perceived as abusive. context

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.

Directly affected

Missouri residents

Missouri residents and entities subject to website access litigation gain the legal standing to file civil actions against plaintiffs and law firms initiating abusive claims.

Directly affected

attorney general

The attorney general is authorized to file civil actions on behalf of a class of state residents, issue written determinations regarding litigation abuse, and notify the revisor of statutes upon federal action.

Directly affected

Plaintiffs and law firms initiating website access litigation

Plaintiffs, attorneys, and law firms bringing website access claims face potential civil liability, awards of attorney's fees, and punitive damages up to three times those fees if their litigation is determined to be abusive.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can file a lawsuit against parties bringing abusive website access claims?
The attorney general on behalf of a class of state residents, and any resident of the state who is subject to litigation alleging a website access violation, may file a civil action.
What happens if a business corrects an alleged website access violation quickly?
If a defendant in good faith attempts to correct the alleged violation within 30 days of receiving written notice or a petition, there is a that any subsequent continuation of the litigation constitutes abusive litigation.
What penalties can a court impose for abusive litigation under this bill?
The court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs for bringing the action and defending against the abusive litigation, plus punitive damages or sanctions up to three times the amount of the awarded attorney's fees.
When do these provisions expire?
The provisions expire if the federal Department of Justice issues standards concerning website accessibility under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the attorney general notifies the revisor of statutes.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.

Procedural history

8 actions
  1. Jan 22, 2026HouseCommittee
    HCS Reported Do Pass (H)
  2. Jan 21, 2026HouseCommittee
    HCS Voted Do Pass (H)
  3. Jan 21, 2026House
    Executive Session Completed (H)
  4. Jan 14, 2026House
    Public Hearing Completed (H)
  5. Jan 8, 2026HouseCommittee
    Referred: General Laws(H)
  6. Jan 8, 2026HouseFloor
    Read Second Time (H)
Show 2 earlier actions
  1. Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read First Time (H)
  2. Dec 1, 2025HouseIntroduced
    Prefiled (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

John VossHouse · District 147RepublicanSponsor
George HruzaHouse · District 89RepublicanCosponsor
Donna BarnesHouse · District 28DemocraticCosponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Introduction of Counter-Litigation for Website Access Claims

The bill creates a specific civil cause of action allowing defendants of website access lawsuits to sue plaintiffs and counsel for abusive litigation, altering standard legal dynamics for accessibility claims.

attorney generalGeneral Assembly

Connected Entities

attorney general, General Assembly, revisor of statutes and 2 more
Personattorney general“May file a civil action on behalf of a class of residents and notify the revisor”Map →
OrganizationGeneral Assembly“Enacting body of the state of Missouri”Map →
Personrevisor of statutes“Receives notification from the attorney general concerning federal Department of”Map →
OrganizationMissouri secretary of state's office“Where entities file under chapter 351”Map →
Organizationfederal Department of Justice“May issue standards concerning website accessibility under Title III of the fede”Map →

Sources

Open source document

house.mo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance75
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy65
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment10
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz40
    Current news / social attention level

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