JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Legislation intended to spare Missourians from some unwanted e-mails was approved by the House and went to the Senate on Thursday, but with several exceptions attached.

The bill, backed by Attorney General Jay Nixon, would let Missourians place their e-mail addresses on a blacklist similar to the state's popular "no-call" list for telemarketers.

But as with the no-call list, there would be several exceptions for senders of commercial e-mails, widely known as spam.

For example, computer users who put their addresses on the list could still receive e-mails from banks, credit unions or farm credit services. And they still could get messages from licensed professionals or tradesmen attempting to set up appointments to sell goods or services.

Also exempt would be any e-mail coming from someone who had a business relationship with the recipient anytime in the past year, or any e-mail forwarded by a third party without the knowledge of the original sender.

Democratic Rep. Rick Johnson of High Ridge, who has unsuccessfully sought to abolish similar exceptions in the state's no-call law, warned lawmakers Thursday that the bill wouldn't block as much junk e-mail as might be expected. Still, he said the no-spam list was a good start.

House members sent the bill to the Senate without any dissenting votes. A separate Senate bill on the same subject has yet to receive debate.

Nixon said that despite the exceptions, "this is a good bill that is a framework to put Missouri on the cutting edge of individual and small business privacy."

Rep. David Pearce, who handled the bill on the House floor, said the legislation potentially could reduce -- if not eliminate -- computer users' receipt of unwanted e-mails.

"It affects almost everyone in the state of Missouri who gets e-mail," said Pearce, R-Warrensburg. "This is a growing annoyance."

Under Pearce's bill, companies that send e-mail to addresses on the list could be fined $5,000 per violation, capped at $25,000 each day. The attorney general's office would have authority to pursue violators.

The legislation also would require commercial e-mail senders to include labels in the subject lines -- "ADV" for unsolicited advertisements and "XXX" for pornographic material. Those requirements are intended to help people who don't sign up for the list.

E-mail bill is HB228.