Home/Missouri/Statutes/Title XXXIX: CONDUCT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS/Ch. 610: Governmental Bodies and Records/§ 610.011
Missouri Statutes

§ 610.011 — Liberal construction of law to be public policy.

Missouri § 610.011
JurisdictionMissouri
Title XXXIXCONDUCT OF PUBLIC BUSINESS
Ch. 610Governmental Bodies and Records

This text of Missouri § 610.011 (Liberal construction of law to be public policy.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 610.011 (2026).

Text

1.It is the public policy of this state that meetings, records, votes, actions, and deliberations of public governmental bodies be open to the public unless otherwise provided by law.  Sections 610.010 to 610.200 shall be liberally construed and their exceptions strictly construed to promote this public policy.
2.Except as otherwise provided by law, all public meetings of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public as set forth in section 610.020 , all public records of public governmental bodies shall be open to the public for inspection and copying as set forth in sections 610.023 to 610.026 , and all public votes of public governmental bodies shall be recorded as set forth in section 610.015 .

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Legislative History

(L. 1987 S.B. 2, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1020, et al.)

Nearby Sections

15
§ 610.010
Definitions.
§ 610.011
Liberal construction of law to be public policy.
§ 610.015
Votes, how taken.
§ 610.020
Notice of meetings, when required — recording of meetings to be allowed, guidelines, penalty — accessibility of meetings — minutes of meetings to be kept, content — voting records to be included.
§ 610.021
Closed meetings and closed records authorized when, exceptions.
§ 610.022
Closed meetings, procedure and limitation — public records presumed open unless exempt — objections to closing meetings or records, procedure.
§ 610.023
Records of governmental bodies to be in care of custodian, duties — records may be copied but not removed, exception, procedure — denial of access, procedure.
§ 610.024
Public record containing exempt and nonexempt materials, nonexempt to be made available — deleted exempt materials to be explained, exception.
§ 610.025
Electronic transmission of messages relating to public business, requirements.
§ 610.026
Fees for copying public records, limitations — fee money remitted to whom — tax, license or fee as used in Missouri Constitution Article X, Section 22, not to include copying fees.
§ 610.027
Violations — remedies, procedure, penalty, purposeful violations — validity of actions by governing bodies in violation — governmental bodies may seek interpretation of law, attorney general to provide.
§ 610.028
Legal defense of members of governmental bodies, when — written policy on release of information required — persons reporting violations exempt from liability and discipline.
§ 610.029
Governmental agencies to provide information by electronic services, contracts for public records databases, requirements, electronic services defined — division of data processing may be consulted.
§ 610.030
Injunctive relief authorized.
§ 610.032
Executive agency disclosure of closed records, purpose, procedure — executive agency defined.
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Bluebook (online)
Missouri § 610.011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/statute/mo/610.011.