Against taxation by citation

Missouri lawmakers continued working during the 2016 legislative session to address the systemic failures of some of Missouri’s municipal courts. As part of our ongoing effort to bring an end to “taxation through citation,” the Legislature passed and sent to the governor Senate Bill 572.

This measure adds non-moving violations to the calculation for annual general revenue limits that can come from fines and court costs and lowers the maximum allowable fine for a minor traffic violation from $300 to $225, among other provisions.

As you may recall, the General Assembly came together last year to pass Senate Bill 5, which modified what is commonly known as the Mack’s Creek Law — named after a small town in Missouri that by the mid-90s was found to be collecting almost 90% of its revenue solely from traffic fines.

SB 5 further reduced the allowable amount of annual operating revenue municipalities are able to collect from traffic fines and introduced reforms in Missouri’s municipal court system.

Although SB 5 was a great first step, other issues have come to light that reveal the abusive system of “taxation through citation” extends well beyond traffic tickets. For example, residents in some Missouri municipalities have been repeatedly fined for non-moving ordinance violations such as mismatched blinds, peeling paint and having a barbeque grill in the front yard.

While most ordinances are aimed at health, welfare and public safety, some of them, and the strict application of fines that follow, are far beyond what many of us think is reasonable.

I am happy to report that the governor recently signed SB 572 and its provisions will become law on Aug. 28 of this year.

With the passage of both SB 572 and SB 5, the Legislature has sent a clear message that Missourians will no longer tolerate the abuses of “taxation through citation” and will demand accountability in our municipal courts systems.