Missouri voters will decide Nov. 5 if retirement funds for sheriffs and prosecutors should be supported with fees collected on court cases.
A fee used to fund sheriffs鈥� pensions was put in place by state law in 1983.
The Missouri General Assembly on the ballot to reverse a that found the fees unconstitutional.
The state鈥檚 high court found that court fees for pensions were 鈥渘ot reasonably related to expense of the administration of justice鈥� and thus violated a constitutional ban against using court fees to enhance the compensation of executive department officials, which would include retired county sheriffs.
If approved by a simple majority of voters, the Missouri Constitution will be changed, allowing the legislature to fund benefits for the state鈥檚 114 elected county sheriffs or their surviving spouses through the collection of per case where a guilty verdict or plea is reached. Retirement benefits for prosecutors are also included, through .
Official ballot title
鈥淪hall the Missouri Constitution be amended to provide that the administration of justice shall include the levying of costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for certain current and former law enforcement personnel?
State and local governmental entities estimate an unknown fiscal impact.
Fair Ballot Language:
A 鈥測es鈥� vote will amend the Missouri Constitution to levy costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for current and former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys, and circuit attorneys to ensure all Missourians have access to the courts of justice.
A 鈥渘o鈥� vote will not amend the Missouri Constitution to levy costs and fees related to current or former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys and circuit attorneys.
If passed, this measure will have no impact on taxes.
What happens if Amendment 6 fails?
If it fails, the predicts that its fund will be insolvent within nine years, said Melissa Lorts, executive director.
鈥淲e feel like the $3 fee is really a user fee of the court system,鈥� Lorts said.
Sheriffs are responsible for bringing defendants to the courthouse from the jail, and they administer warrants and manage other aspects of a criminal case, she said.
鈥淪o we have a heavy hand in what happens in the court system,鈥� Lorts said.
More than 200 former sheriffs or their surviving spouses currently receive benefits, Lorts said.
The amendment traces back to two speeding tickets in Kansas City and the state supreme court ruling that followed.
Two men admitted to the traffic violations in 2017, ultimately paying a total of $223.50 in fines and fees to the city鈥檚 municipal court.
But the men later argued that they didn鈥檛 realize that $3 from each case would go toward the sheriffs鈥� retirement benefits.
The two men led a class action filed with Jackson County Circuit Court, arguing that the extra charge was 鈥渦njust enrichment,鈥� a violation of the state constitution.
The case continued to wind through the courts until the Missouri Supreme Court ruled for the plaintiffs in 2021, Lorts said.
The court鈥檚 decision cited a 1986 ruling, noting that it laid down 鈥渁 bright-line rule鈥� barring court fees that benefit executive officials that are not 鈥渞easonably related to the expense of the administration of justice.鈥�
The ruling in the traffic case cost the retirement system about $9 million in court costs and settlements and ended its ability to collect the money, Lorts said.
In December 2023, the fund had $38.4 million in assets, a drop of $800,000 from the end of the previous calendar year, according to the Missouri Sheriffs鈥� Retirement System .
Beginning in January 2024, active sheriffs began contributing 5% of their salaries to the retirement fund, a change instituted by the legislature.
The legislature also approved $2.5 million to help stabilize the fund, an amount that has been requested again in the coming fiscal year, Lorts said.
What are the arguments against Amendment 6?聽
Critics of the fees that Amendment 6 would allow say each county should pay for pensions and other costs related to law enforcement and the courts.
The Washington, D.C.-based told lawmakers that the salaries and benefits for prosecutors and sheriffs should be adequately funded, but that court fees are an 鈥渋neffective and counterproductive鈥� approach.
鈥淲hen fines and fees go unpaid, judges may issue arrest warrants for failing to pay, leading to law enforcement arresting people for not paying financial obligations 鈥� most often because they are too poor to pay,鈥� testified Priya Sarathy Jones, deputy executive director at the Fines and Fees Justice Center.
鈥淭he time spent on these debt collection and enforcement efforts diverts law enforcement and courts from their core responsibilities 鈥� In fact, the collection of fines and fees by law enforcement has been found to be associated with lower clearance rates for more serious crimes.鈥�
Some studies have shown that the cost to municipalities to collect fines and fees can exceed the revenue generated.
The Missouri NAACP argued that the fees 鈥渃reate a negative incentive to give more tickets and charge unnecessary crimes.鈥�
Leonard Charles Gilroy, a vice president of the in Los Angeles, wrote that changing the state constitution to allow the fees would violate 鈥渂asics of public finance and fiscal stewardship.鈥�
Public pensions are constitutionally protected benefits, which are obligated to be paid in full regardless of market conditions or revenue generated.
鈥淟aw enforcement and courts are core functions of government that should be funded through legislative appropriations, not fees,鈥� Gilroy鈥檚 statement said.
鈥淚t would be imprudent to revive a policy to fund pension contributions with dedicated fine/fee revenues because those revenues can fluctuate over time, while pension liabilities are always locked in.鈥�
Meanwhile, Amendment 6 came under fire for ballot summary language that the ruled was insufficient and unfair.
The court clarified that passage of the measure by voters in the general election would enshrine a broader meaning of the administration of justice in the state constitution.
That court reworded the ballot language voters will see to read: 鈥淪hall the Missouri Constitution be amended to provide that the administration of justice shall include the levying of costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for certain current and former law enforcement personnel?鈥�
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