JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri judge has temporarily blocked a pair of new state laws that would have limited the ability of governments to regulate cellphone towers.
Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce issued a preliminary injunction dated Tuesday barring the laws from taking effect as scheduled on Wednesday.
At issue are bills imposing a wide-ranging list of things that cities, counties and the state cannot do when regulating cellphone towers.
A lawsuit by several cities claimed the bills violated numerous constitutional provisions by imposing an unfunded mandate on local governments, applying retroactively and infringing on judicial authority. The lawsuit also alleged constitutional flaws in the way that lawmakers drafted the bill.
Joyce wrote in a brief order that the bills appear to violate multiple sections of the Missouri Constitution.