Disir
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- Sep 30, 2011
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JEFFERSON CITY • The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling striking down a law that imposed special requirements for municipalities in St. Louis County after the unrest following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.
One section required municipalities in St. Louis County to adhere to a set of minimum standards, including a requirement that police departments earn accreditation. Another capped the revenue that a city could keep from traffic fines at 12.5 percent of its general operating revenue, instead of the 20 percent cap the law imposed statewide. The previous cap was 30 percent statewide.
Twelve cities and two mayors in St. Louis County challenged those sections because they were aimed specifically at St. Louis County, calling them “special laws” that are generally barred by the state constitution.
The high court ruled that special laws can survive a court challenge if the state demonstrates “substantial justification” for special treatment. But the state attorney general’s office didn’t try, the judges wrote.
....Auditor Nicole Galloway said in an email she was pleased the court affirmed her ability to hold local governments accountable. “Too often my audits identified blatant disregard for financial reporting requirements, and outright refusal to remit excess revenue owed to the state,” she wrote, vowing to continue ensuring cities are not using courts “as the main source of revenue to prop up an otherwise unsustainable government.”
Court-reform law survives Missouri Supreme Court, but no longer targets St. Louis County
Another cluster &*(%^
Because the state attorney general's office did not give a hot damn
One section required municipalities in St. Louis County to adhere to a set of minimum standards, including a requirement that police departments earn accreditation. Another capped the revenue that a city could keep from traffic fines at 12.5 percent of its general operating revenue, instead of the 20 percent cap the law imposed statewide. The previous cap was 30 percent statewide.
Twelve cities and two mayors in St. Louis County challenged those sections because they were aimed specifically at St. Louis County, calling them “special laws” that are generally barred by the state constitution.
The high court ruled that special laws can survive a court challenge if the state demonstrates “substantial justification” for special treatment. But the state attorney general’s office didn’t try, the judges wrote.
....Auditor Nicole Galloway said in an email she was pleased the court affirmed her ability to hold local governments accountable. “Too often my audits identified blatant disregard for financial reporting requirements, and outright refusal to remit excess revenue owed to the state,” she wrote, vowing to continue ensuring cities are not using courts “as the main source of revenue to prop up an otherwise unsustainable government.”
Court-reform law survives Missouri Supreme Court, but no longer targets St. Louis County
Another cluster &*(%^
Because the state attorney general's office did not give a hot damn
