Lower limits on how much money cities in St. Louis County can make from fines and fees may be returning, after a ruling issued Tuesday by a judge in Jefferson City.
The provisions were part , which passed in 2015 after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. No city in Missouri could have more than 20% of its budget come from fines or court fees, down from 30% under a previous law. The limit was even lower for municipalities in St. Louis County 鈥� 12.5% 鈥� and municipal police departments there were forced to meet minimum standards.
A group of north county cities sued, arguing that the lower budget limits and the police department standards made SB 5 an unconstitutional special law. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed in , and the matter seemed settled.
But late last year, in an unrelated case, the
鈥淓very law is entitled to a presumption of constitutional validity in this Court, and if the line drawn by the legislature is supported by a rational basis, the law is not local or special and the analysis ends,鈥� Patricia Breckenridge wrote .
Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a lead architect of the legislation when he was in the General Assembly, asked a lower court to to SB 5.
In a , Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetum wrote that 鈥渢he minimum standards 鈥� rationally advance the State鈥檚 goals by promoting transparency and accountability in municipal finances and accounting, and ensuring the municipal police forces meet minimum standards 鈥� both of which also promote the State鈥檚 goal of curbing the abuses associated with revenue-driven municipal enforcement,鈥� and allowed the state to begin enforcing those stricter limits.
The ruling means enforcement of the county-specific provisions could begin immediately, but it was unclear when Schmitt鈥檚 office would take action.
An attorney for the cities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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