On Thursday, Gov. Jay Nixon signed municipal court reform legislation sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt. Like the transfer legislation Gov. Nixon vetoed last week, Senate Bill 5 was the product of a bi-partisan, cross-regional effort to improve the lives of all Missourians. The major focus of the bill, however, was in the St. Louis region, where dozens of municipalities (which probably shouldn't exist) have implemented systems of taxation by citation. These cities - like Edmundson, St. Ann and Normandy - have treated their municipal courts more like profit centers than forums for law enforcement.
Senate Bill 5 aims to stop these schemes to abuse citizens. Most of the press on Senate Bill 5 focused on the Mack's Creek portion of the bill. Under current law, a municipality can receive up to 30 percent of its revenue from traffic tickets. Sen. Schmitt's bill reduces that to 20 percent for most of the state and 12.5 percent for St. Louis County. This will force municipalities to quit balancing their budgets by writing phony tickets. (By contrast, Jefferson City receives just over 3 percent of its annual revenue from traffic fines and fees.)
As I've written before, the right amount is not 30, 20, 12.5 or even three. It's zero. Article IX, section 7 of the Missouri constitution requires that the "clear proceeds of all penalties, forfeitures, and fines" for breach of the "penal laws" must be distributed to schools, not municipal, county or state budgets.
For minor traffic violations, Senate Bill 5 caps fines and costs to $300 and prohibits jail time. To help municipalities collect unpaid tickets, the bill allows municipal courts to withhold tax refund money from offenders. Just as important, it requires every municipal court to adopt basic due process standards. Every municipal court: (1) must give defendants in custody due to a municipal arrest warrant must an opportunity for a hearing in front of judge within 48 hours; (2) is prohibited from holding a person more than 24 hours without a warrant after arrest; (3) certify that defendants are not being detained to coerce payment of fines and costs; (4) be held in a courtroom open to the public and large enough to accommodate the public, parties and attorneys; and (5) must make use of alternative payment plans and community service alternatives. If a municipal court fails to comply, it's taken over by the county circuit court.
Just as important, SB 5 creates minimum standards for local governments in St. Louis County. To continue their existence, every local government must have (1) a balanced budget, (2) an annual audit, (3) insurance, (4) ordinances that are easily-accessible to the public, and (5) an accredited police force with a written use of force policy. These are simple requirements. A municipality that can't meet them is a municipality that should no longer exist. The bill empowers citizens by permitting them to file an affidavit with the attorney general if they believe their municipality is not complying. The AG has a duty to investigate and is given the authority to file suit against the lackluster municipality. If a judge finds that the municipality has failed to meet these standards, they can order an election for disincorporation or place an administrative authority in charge of the city.
In signing the bill, Gov. Nixon rightly called it "the most comprehensive and sweeping municipal court reform bill in Missouri history." It's a bill that will help "return our municipal courts to their intended purpose: serving our citizens and protecting the public."
Of course, some municipalities will still find ways around these restrictions. Just this week, KMOV in St. Louis reported that many municipalities' revenues are shifting from traffic tickets to other citations. In Pine Lawn last year, the city prosecuted eight non-traffic ordinance violations for every household in the city.
Investigative reporter Craig Cheatam highlighted the story of one couple in Hanley Hills. They're set for a trial on the charge of failure to get an occupancy permit after they were recently married and the husband moved in with his wife. There were not any other people living in the house. And yet, it's apparently an offense in Hanley Hills to live with a new spouse without first checking in with your friendly local government bureaucrat. The couple may have a constitutional claim against the statute as applied to them, but even if they don't, this is the type of case that any sensible prosecutor would dismiss. That is, unless the purpose of the court system making money and not justice.
Cheatam's report highlights the fact that the legislative process is never finished. Just as con men will always find new ways to commit fraud, so too will bad local government officials find ways to squeeze their citizens. Next year's reform may well be to prohibit municipalities from prosecuting married couples for living together.
State Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, represents Missouri's 60th District.