HCS HB 58 -- POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS (Johnson, 47)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN:  Local Government

This substitute changes the laws regarding political
subdivisions.  In its main provisions, the substitute:

(1)  Exempts county commissioners of first classification
counties from the requirement that $2,000 of their authorized
salary be payable only upon the annual completion of 20 hours of
classroom instruction relating to the operations of the
commissioner's office (Section 49.082, RSMo);

(2)  Raises from $250 to $1,000 the value of property for which
the county auditor in first and second classification counties
and the county department officer in third and fourth
classification counties is required to inventory (Sections 49.093
and 55.160);

(3)  Authorizes the Jasper and Jefferson county commissions to
impose by rule, regulation, or ordinance a civil fine of up to
$1,000 for each violation of any rule, regulation, or ordinance
adopted by the commission (Section 49.272);

(4)  Allows county officials' salaries to be computed on an
assessed valuation basis without regard to modifications because
of the existence of enterprise zones (Section 50.343);

(5)  Requires all county commissions without a purchasing agent
to estimate county expenditures for supplies for the following
year.  The commission may authorize the purchase of supplies at a
public auction.  No contract for a purchase is valid until the
commission has approved a purchase order for the supplies for
which bids were advertised and submitted (Section 50.760);

(6)  Clarifies that "supplies" include materials, equipment, and
contractual services but excludes regulated utility services
(Section 50.770);

(7)  Authorizes competitive bids to be waived by the county
commission under emergency circumstances or when there is only a
single, feasible source for the supplies.  A proposed purchase of
more than $3,000 from a single, feasible source must be posted;
and a proposed purchase of more than $5,000 must be advertised
(Sections 50.780 and 50.783);

(8)  Authorizes the county commission to delegate its procurement
authority to county departments provided that the department
follows all the laws for purchasing, entering contracts, and
keeping records (Section 50.784);

(9)  Provides that recorders of deeds separate from circuit
clerks in second, third, and fourth classification counties be
paid the statutory compensation pursuant to Section 50.334
(Section 59.044);

(10)  Authorizes any city or county to levy a sales tax of up to
0.5%, upon voter approval.  This tax must be in lieu of the
economic development sales tax allowed by Sections 67.1300 and
67.1303.  Revenue collected from this tax will be deposited by
the Director of the Department of Revenue in the city's or
county's local option economic development sales tax trust fund.
These funds will not be considered state money and will be
distributed monthly to the city or county which levied the tax.
The substitute specifies how the funds are to be spent and
requires that the city or county establish an economic
development tax board.  The Department of Economic Development
must submit to the Joint Committee on Economic Development by
March 1 of each year a one-page report summarizing the status of
each project using this sales tax.  The substitute specifies what
must be included in this report (Section 67.1305);

(11)  Extends authority to all cities and counties in the state
to develop geographic information systems and the ability to
charge for the use of the systems (Section 67.1850);

(12)  Eliminates the requirement that the notice of a hearing for
a proposed special business district be sent by registered or
certified mail with a return receipt attached (Section 71.794);

(13)  Extends the expiration date of Section 82.291 from August
28, 2005, to August 28, 2008, which makes property owners in the
City of Hazelwood liable for the removal of all derelict vehicles
that are not properly stored if they are deemed to be a public
nuisance (Section 82.291);

(14)  Provides that a neighborhood organization representing
persons aggrieved by a Kansas City code violation may seek
injunctive and other equitable relief in circuit court for
abatement of a nuisance (Sections 82.301 - 82.305);

(15)  Grants neighborhood organizations in the cities of St.
Louis, Kansas City, and Springfield and the counties of Platte,
Jefferson, and St. Louis standing to file nuisance actions
against a nearby property owner when the owner fails to maintain
his or her property (Section 82.1025);

(16)  Authorizes any city with a population of 100 or more to
levy a transportation sales tax, upon voter approval.  Currently,
only cities with a population of 200 or more are authorized to
levy this tax (Section 94.700);

(17)  Authorizes the cities of Canton, La Grange, and Edina to
impose a transient guest tax, upon voter approval, on all hotels
and motels within their city limits.  This tax cannot exceed 5%
per occupied room per night and is to be used solely for
promoting tourism (Section 94.837);

(18)  Authorizes the City of Lamar Heights to impose, upon voter
approval, a room tax of no more than 6% per night and a local
sales tax on food of no more than 2%.  These taxes will be used
solely for capital improvements (Section 94.838);

(19)  Allows nursing home districts in Marion and Ralls counties
to establish and maintain assisted living facilities (Section
198.345);

(20)  Requires water supply district board elections to be held
in April and deems three consecutive unexcused absences from
board meetings by a member to be a vacation of the seat (Sections
247.060 and 247.180);

(21)  Removes Douglas, Ozark, and Wright counties from the Upper
White River Basin Watershed Improvement District and allows a
petition initiative by the residents of these counties to vote on
whether to remain in the district (Sections 249.1150 and
249.1152);

(22)  Adds water supply districts to those entities that may sue
landlords or tenants for past due bills less any security deposit
amounts and requires those supplier entities to make a good faith
effort to notify the property owner when the tenant's sewer or
water bill is more than 30 days past due.  The owner cannot be
held liable for sums due from the tenant for more than 90 days of
service, and the water provider cannot be held civilly or
criminally liable for terminating service due to the delinquency
of the payment.  This section only applies to residences with
their own private water and sewer lines and becomes effective on
February 1, 2006 (Section 250.140);

(23)  Eliminates the requirement that candidates for trustee of a
watershed district live within the district (Section 278.240);

(24)  Modifies the terms served by board members of fire
protection districts in St. Charles, Lincoln, St. Louis, and
Jefferson counties (Section 321.120);

(25)  Prohibits fire district board members from being paid more
than one attendance fee per week if the member attends more than
one meeting in a calendar week (Section 321.190);

(26)  Provides that the City of Harrisonville will be governed by
Section 72.418 relating to city reimbursement to the fire
protection district (Section 321.322);

(27)  Lengthens the time from one month to six months that a
property has to be unoccupied before a person can petition to
have it declared abandoned (Sections 447.620, 447.622, 447.625,
and 447.640);

(28)  Expands the purpose for which a tax charged on adult
cabarets may be used from solely for background checks on cabaret
employees to include general law enforcement use of the sheriff's
department (Section 573.505);

(29)  Requires, after September 1, 2005, any money received or
collected to fund additional costs and expenses incurred by
county offices to be deposited into the county general revenue
fund, unless the fund is required by state law or was approved by
a vote of the people (Section 1);

(30)  Transfers the responsibility of computing county officials'
salaries to the county salary commissions (Section 2);

(31)  Requires that certain cities in Jackson County provide
sewer services to premises which already receive water services
and are located outside the corporate boundaries of the city.
The rate charged for sewer services supplied to customers outside
the city must be the same as the rate charged to customers inside
the city, regardless of whether or not the area has been annexed
by the city (Section 3); and

(32)  Prohibits the Missouri Housing Development Commission from
awarding grants or loans to the City of Kansas City unless the
city's governing body implements oversight procedures to review
expenditures and development plans for all housing contracts in
excess of $75,000 (Section 3).

The substitute contains an emergency clause for Section 94.838
regarding the room and food tax for capital improvements for the
City of Lamar Heights.

FISCAL NOTE:  Estimated Income on General Revenue Fund of $0 or
Unknown in FY 2006, FY 2007, and FY 2008.  No impact on Other
State Funds in FY 2006, FY 2007, and FY 2008.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:18 pm