JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday signed legislation that he said “builds on and strengthens” the sweeping municipal court reform measures that were enacted last year in attempts to further prevent Missouri cities from using court fines as significant revenue generators.
Senate Bill 572 has been called “SB 5 part two.” It was passed in conjunction to last year’s SB 5, which was passed in the aftermath of the unrest in Ferguson. This year’s bill lowers the cap on fines for minor traffic violations and other municipal ordinances. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, also prohibits jail time for those who don’t pay their fines.
“The purpose of municipal courts is to protect our communities, not profit from them,” Nixon said Friday. “This bill builds on the landmark reform legislation I called for and signed last year, and will help ensure all our municipal courts operate with fairness, openness and accountability.”
The bill, which will take effect Aug. 28, caps court times for certain nuisance building and zoning ordinance violations at $200 for the first offense and defendants will not be able to be jailed for nonpayment.
Revenues derived from these municipal ordinance violations would also be included in the revenue caps established under Senate Bill 5, and any amounts over those caps would be remitted to county schools.
Nixon’s signature brushes aside concern by some municipal judges, particularly in the Kansas City area, who worried that the law would hurt their fight against creeping urban blight. Those judges said the threat of large fines or jail time motivated violators to clean up their acts.
But the governor still called the legislation a “common-sense step.” The law sailed through the legislature, under the guidance of Schmitt, who is also a candidate for Missouri Treasurer.
Schmitt was delighted that the bill was signed into law. He went on KMOX in St. Louis Friday afternoon to discuss the issue and took to Twitter: “Muni officials put on notice last year #TaxationByCitation would not be tolerated. Pleased gov signed #SB572 building on last year’s reforms.”
Schmitt followed that up with a tweet that the bill will “ensure munis treat citizens as people and not just a source of revenue.”
Senate Bill 572 will also make it easier for voters to disincorporate a municipality by lowering the percentage of resident voters needed to petition to have an election for disincorporation from 50 percent to 25 percent, and also lowering the percentage of votes needed to approve disincorporation from 60 percent to a majority of those voting.
Nixon, in a March 2015 speech to the Missouri Bar, called for comprehensive municipal court reform, including improved transparency, greater respect for due process, and practical alternatives to incarceration and fines.
The governor then worked closely with legislators to develop legislation to rein the well-publicized abuses of the municipal court system in the St. Louis region surrounding the Ferguson incident and ensure all municipal courts in the state operate fairly, ethically and transparently.
In other legislative action, the governor also signed
* House Bill 1684, which authorizes non-adjoining municipalities in a county of the first or second classification to consolidate. Municipalities of the third classification may consolidate if they are not more than one and a half miles apart; and
