Missouri House adopts bills to curb alleged abusive website accessibility lawsuits

The House adopted a string of bills on Feb. 3 intended to curb abusive website accessibility litigation that members said has targeted small businesses.

The lady from Harrison presented the package and told colleagues, "This bill does not weaken the Americans with Disability Act, nor does it block legitimate claims." She described a framework that would allow courts to consider whether a plaintiff filed near‑identical suits repeatedly, whether a business was given notice and time to fix an issue, and whether actions were brought primarily to extract settlements rather than to remedy access problems. The proposal also gives the attorney general authority to step in when an abusive pattern appears and creates incentives for businesses to fix problems within 90 days.

Speakers representing tourism and business districts described local impacts. The gentleman from Camden said many restaurants and tourism businesses in his district had been targeted and urged protection for small employers; another member called the practice "ambulance chasing." Supporters pointed to bipartisan committee votes and said the bills balance protecting people with disabilities while preventing opportunistic lawsuits.

The House adopted the House committee substitute for HB 1694 et al by voice vote and ordered the bills perfected and printed. The motion was made and carried on the floor; the transcript records committee votes cited by sponsors (for example, the general laws committee passage was described as 14‑0 for at least one bill in the string).

Next steps: The adopted committee substitute will proceed through perfection and printing and any ensuing floor votes and committee follow‑up as required.

Provenance: Presentation, debate and adoption of the House committee substitute for HB 1694 et al (topic introduction at SEG 1097; adoption announced at SEG 1476).