JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri lawmakers came one step closer to advancing reforms of municipal courts after the House advanced their version of the legislation designed to cap how much cities can collect through traffic fines and fees.
Sen. Eric Schmitt sponsors SB5, which makes sweeping changes to the states “Macks Creek Law.” Under the legislation, most municipalities will have to cut the portion of their annual budget collected through traffic tickets and related court fees from 30 percent to 10 percent by 2017.
The bill is one of the few pieces of legislation that many lawmakers see as aimed directly at the events last summer in Ferguson. Since protests last year, lawmakers have become increasingly aware of — and concerned with — the whopping number of small cities relying largely on speeding tickets and court fees to fund basic city operations.
“Taxation by citation,” as many Republicans have dubbed it, quickly came under fire from both sides of the aisle. House Speaker John Diehl said during floor debate that lawmakers had spent “hundreds” of hours crafting the language before he added his own lengthy amendment on the floor.
Diehl’s amendment sets new minimum standards of policing, government functions, financial regulations and more that could ultimately result in the removing of city officials or disincorporation if they aren’t met. The language comes as more and more lawmakers begin to take issue with St. Louis County’s whopping 90+ municipalities, some of which are impossibly small.
Diehl’s amendment — which applies only to St. Louis County — would give cities three years to comply with the new minimum standards or face potential court action.
The amendment will almost certainly be a point of contention when the bill advances to a conference committee in the coming days. Lawmakers will also have to reconcile a small difference in their version of the cap. While the Senate capped St. Louis-area cities at 10 percent, the House decided on 15.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
