Effective 01 Jan 2009, see footnote

650.475. Prohibiting or restricting communication with federal authorities regarding citizenship or immigration, unlawful when — attorney general to issue opinion, when — rights of public employees. — 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no government entity, political subdivision, or government official within the state of Missouri shall prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from communicating or cooperating with the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual.

2. Municipalities and political subdivisions may collect and share the identity of persons by the same means the Federal Bureau of Investigation or its successor agency uses in its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System or its successor program.

3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person or agency within the state of Missouri shall prohibit, or in any way restrict, a public employee from doing any of the following with respect to information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual:

(1) Sending such information to, or requesting or receiving such information from, the United States Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement;

(2) Maintaining such information; or

(3) Exchanging such information with any other federal, state, or local government entity.

4. Upon the complaint of any state resident regarding a specific government entity, agency, or political subdivision of this state or prior to the provision of funds or awarding of any grants to a government entity, agency, or political subdivision of this state, any member of the general assembly may request that the attorney general of the state of Missouri issue an opinion stating whether the government entity, agency, or political subdivision has current policies in contravention of subsections 1 and 3 of this section.

5. No state agency or department shall provide any funding or award any monetary grants to any government entity, agency, or political subdivision determined under subsection 4 of this section to have a policy in contravention of subsections 1 and 3 of this section until the policy is repealed or no longer in effect.

6. The provisions of subsections 1 and 3 of this section shall not apply to any state or local agency administering one or more federal public benefit programs as such term is defined in 8 U.S.C. Section 1612.

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(L. 2008 H.B. 1549, et al. § 650.681)

Effective 1-01-09