Missouri · House Bill · 103rd General Assembly, Second Regular Session
HB2318
Missouri HB 2318 — Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health

Status ● Introduced Effective N/A Passage Likelihood M

WHAT THIS BILL REGULATES · 1 REQUIREMENT TYPE

How Is This Bill Enforced

Enforcement Authority
Attorney general enforcement. Any individual may report violations to the attorney general. Upon finding a violation, the attorney general shall commence a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. No private right of action.
Private Right of Action
No private right of action. Enforcement is exclusive to the designated authority.
Penalties
$10,000 civil penalty for the first violation; $20,000 for any subsequent violation (notwithstanding § 407.100). Court may also grant damages, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, and any other relief the court finds appropriate. Violations are also unlawful practices under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.

What This Bill Requires

Verbatim statutory text on the left; plain-language analysis and a per-section checklist on the right. Numbered markers cross-link to the matching checklist row.

Statutory Text
Analysis & Obligations
§ 407.3007(1)
Definitions

(1) As used in this section, the following terms mean: (1) "Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence"Artificial intelligence" or "AI": (a) Any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets; (b) An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other computer systems that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action; (c) An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks; (d) A set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task; or (e) An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision-making, and acting.§ 407.3007(1)" or "AI": (a) Any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets; (b) An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other computer systems that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action; (c) An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks; (d) A set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task; or (e) An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision-making, and acting; (2) "Mental health professionalMental health professional"Mental health professional", the same as defined in section 632.005.§ 407.3007(1)(2)", the same as defined in section 632.005.

This subsection defines the two key terms for the bill: artificial intelligence and mental health professional. The AI definition is broad and disjunctive, encompassing any system that performs tasks autonomously, learns from data, mimics human cognition, approximates cognitive tasks, or acts rationally. The mental health professional definition is incorporated by reference to existing Missouri law at § 632.005.

§ 407.3007(2)
Prohibition on AI therapy representations
DeployerDeveloper

(2) 1 Any person or entity that develops or deploys artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence"Artificial intelligence" or "AI": (a) Any artificial system that performs tasks under varying and unpredictable circumstances without significant human oversight or that can learn from experience and improve performance when exposed to data sets; (b) An artificial system developed in computer software, physical hardware, or other computer systems that solves tasks requiring human-like perception, cognition, planning, learning, communication, or physical action; (c) An artificial system designed to think or act like a human, including cognitive architectures and neural networks; (d) A set of techniques, including machine learning, that is designed to approximate a cognitive task; or (e) An artificial system designed to act rationally, including an intelligent software agent or embodied robot that achieves goals using perception, planning, reasoning, learning, communicating, decision-making, and acting.§ 407.3007(1) in the state shall not advertise or represent to the public that the AI is or is able to act as a mental health professionalMental health professional"Mental health professional", the same as defined in section 632.005.§ 407.3007(1)(2) or is capable of providing therapy services.

This subsection contains the bill's sole substantive prohibition: any person or entity that develops or deploys AI in Missouri may not advertise or represent to the public that the AI is or is able to act as a mental health professional or is capable of providing therapy services. The obligation is framed as a consumer-protection measure, targeting marketing and public-facing claims rather than the underlying functionality of the AI system itself.

Compliance actions 1 item
1
Any person or entity that develops or deploys AI in Missouri must not advertise or represent to the public that the AI is, or is able to act as, a mental health professionalMental health professional"Mental health professional", the same as defined in section 632.005.§ 407.3007(1)(2) or is capable of providing therapy services.
CP-01.9
§ 407.3007(3)
Unlawful practice designation

(3) Any violation of this section shall be considered an unlawful practice under the Missouri merchandising practices act under this chapter.

This subsection provides that any violation of § 407.3007 is an unlawful practice under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (Chapter 407), integrating the bill's prohibition into Missouri's existing consumer-protection enforcement framework.

§ 407.3007(4)
Enforcement and penalties

(4) The attorney general shall enforce the provisions of this section. Any individual may report violations of this section to the attorney general. If the attorney general finds that a violation occurred, the attorney general shall commence a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction. If the court finds that a violation occurred, the court may grant damages, civil penalties, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, and any such other relief the court finds appropriate. Notwithstanding section 407.100 to the contrary, civil penalties shall be as follows: (1) Ten thousand dollars for the first violation; or (2) Twenty thousand dollars for any subsequent violation.

This subsection vests enforcement authority exclusively in the attorney general, who must commence a civil action upon finding a violation. Any individual may report violations. The court may award damages, civil penalties, injunctive relief, attorney's fees, and other relief. Civil penalties are set at $10,000 for a first violation and $20,000 for subsequent violations, superseding the default penalty schedule in § 407.100.

Passage Likelihood

Medium
Status Introduced
Chamber No passage
Committee Passed
Majority party (No data)
Bipartisan No
Prior session None

Legislative History

2025-12-10 Prefiled (H)
2026-01-07 Read First Time (H)
2026-01-08 Read Second Time (H)
2026-03-05 Referred: Health and Mental Health(H)
2026-03-12 Public Hearing Completed (H)
2026-03-12 Executive Session Completed (H)
2026-03-12 HCS Voted Do Pass (H)
2026-03-12 HCS Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 14 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0

Entry Last Reviewed

2026-05-20
AI generated