Missouri Senate

House Committee Substitute

MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE CONDUCT (Section 479.020)

This provision adds a new subsection which requires conduct of municipal court judges to conform to the rules governing the judiciary set forth in the Supreme Court Rules.

NOTIFICATION OF CREATION AND DISSOLUTION OF MUNICIPAL COURTS (Section 479.155)

This provision requires the presiding judge of the circuit court in which each municipal division is located to notify the clerk of the Supreme Court of the name and address of the municipal division by September 1, 2016. This provision also requires the presiding judge of the circuit court in which each municipal division is located to notify the clerk of the Supreme Court if a municipality elects to abolish the municipal division. This provision also requires the Missouri Supreme Court to develop rules regarding conflict of interest for any prosecutor, defense attorney, or judge that has a pending case before the municipal division of any circuit court.

CONDITIONS FOR MINOR TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS (Section 479.353)

These provisions create conditions for the prosecution of minor traffic violations including: limiting the fines imposed when combined with court costs to $200, prohibiting sentencing to confinement for the underlying violation or failure to pay a fine, and requiring criminal case court costs to be assessed unless the defendant is indigent or the case is dismissed.

MACK'S CREEK LAW (Section 479.359)

This provision replaces the restrictions on annual general operating revenue from traffic fines originally contained in section 302.341, which this act repeals. This provision requires the limit on annual general operating revenue from traffic fines to be reduced from 30% to 20% effective January 1, 2016, except for municipalities with a fiscal year beginning on any date other than January 1, in which case the reduction shall begin on the first day of the immediately following fiscal year. St. Louis county, and municipalities within the county, are restricted to 15% of annual general operating revenue from traffic fines.

FINANCIAL REPORT ADDENDUMS (Section 479.359)

These provisions require all counties, cities, towns, and villages to submit an addendum with their annual financial report to the State Auditor with an accounting of annual general operating revenue, total revenues from fines, bond forfeitures, and court costs for traffic violations, and the percent of annual general operating revenue from traffic violations. This addendum shall be signed by a representative with knowledge of the subject matter as to the accuracy of the addendum contents, under oath and under penalty of perjury, and witnessed by a notary public. These provisions also require all counties, cities, towns, and villages to submit an addendum signed by its municipal judge certifying substantial compliance with certain municipal court procedures.

REVIEW OF ANNUAL GENERAL OPERATING REVENUE (Section 479.362)

These provisions require the Director of Revenue to report any excess amount received from any municipality to the State Auditor. These provisions also require the State Auditor to review the report of the Director of Revenue and addendums filed by municipalities as required in section 479.359 to determine if any municipality failed to file the required addendums or excess revenues. Municipalities determined by the State Auditor to have failed to remit the excess amount of annual general operating revenue or file the required addendums may seek judicial review of the finding by the state auditor under certain circumstances. Upon final determination made that a municipality failed to remit excess revenues or timely file the addendums, any matters pending in the municipal court shall be reassigned to other divisions within the circuit court and all revenues generated shall be considered excess revenues and the municipal court with original jurisdiction shall not be entitled to the revenues.

FAILURE TO REMIT EXCESS REVENUES (Section 479.368)

These provision provides that any county, city, town, or village failing to remit excess revenues from traffic fines shall not receive any amount of moneys to which the county, city, town, or village would otherwise be entitled to receive from local sales tax revenues in the amount that the county, city, town, or village failed to remit to the Director of the Department of Revenue. These provisions also an election automatically be held upon the question of disincorporation for any county, city, town, or village which has failed to remit excess revenues. The Director is required to notify the election authorities and the county governing body in which the city, town, or village is located of the election. The county governing body is required to give notice of the election for eight consecutive weeks prior to the election by publication. Upon the affirmative vote of sixty percent of those persons voting on the question, the county governing body is required to disincorporate the city, town, or village. For disincorporation of a county, the procedure shall comply with Article VI, Section 5 of the Constitution of Missouri.

MICHELA BIRK

HA 1 - THIS AMENDMENT REMOVES SECTION 479.020 RELATING TO MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE CONDUCT AND MODIFIES SECTION 302.341 BY REINSTATING SUBSECTION 1 AND REPLACING SUBSECTION 2, THE ORIGINAL MACK'S CREEK LIMITS, WITH A PROVISION THAT STATES SUBSECTION 1 DOES NOT APPLY TO MINOR TRAFFIC OFFENSES AS DEFINED IN SECTION 479.350.

THIS AMENDMENT ALSO MODIFIES THE DEFINITIONS FOR "ANNUAL GENERAL OPERATING REVENUE", "COURT COSTS", AND "MINOR TRAFFIC VIOLATION".

THIS AMENDMENT ALSO ADDS SECTION 479.356 WHICH ALLOWS FOR A REQUEST FOR AN INCOME TAX REFUND SETOFF FOR UNPAID COURT COSTS, FINES, FEES, OR OTHER SUMS ORDERED BY A MUNICIPAL COURT IN EXCESS OF TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS.

THIS AMENDMENT ALSO MODIFIES THE MUNICIPAL COURT PROCEDURES THAT MUST BE ATTESTED TO IN THE FINANCIAL REPORT ADDENDUM.

THIS AMENDMENT CHANGES THE REVIEW OF THE FINANCIAL REPORT ADDENDUMS AND FURTHER REQUIRED ACTIONS FROM THE PURVIEW OF THE STATE AUDITOR TO THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE.

THIS AMENDMENT ALSO SPECIFIES THAT LOCAL SALES TAXES COLLECTED AND DEPOSITED INTO THE COUNTY SALES TAX TRUST FUND ARE SUBJECT TO WITHHOLDING FOR FAILURE TO REMIT EXCESS REVENUES.

HA 2 - THIS AMENDMENT INSERTS SECTION 479.375 WHICH CONTAINS A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE FOR SECTIONS 479.020, 479.155, 479.350, 479.353, 479.359, 479.362, AND 479.368.

HA 3 - THIS AMENDMENT INSERTS SECTION 67.287 WHICH CREATES MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR MUNICIPAL GOVERNANCE AND CREATES A REMEDY PROCESS FOR CITIZENS WHO BELIEVE THE MINIMUM STANDARDS ARE NOT BEING MET.