4/19/02

Missouri Municipal League - LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

 

The General Assembly is entering the final four weeks of the session and has much to accomplish, including a budget for the next fiscal year. Many of the issues on the legislative agenda are of concern to municipalities.

 

Police Residency – As feared, the House of Representatives voted to reconsider the vote defeating the police residency bill (H.B. 1869). The vote to reconsider was overwhelming, but on final passage, the bill passed by only a six-vote margin.

 

The measure is caught up in the national effort to control the U.S. Senate. The Republican challenger to the Democratic incumbent was endorsed by the St. Louis City Police Officers Association and was on the telephone to many of the state representatives urging them to change their vote and support the bill. It worked. Enough votes were switched, and the bill passed.

 

As passed by the House, H.B. 1869 would prohibit cities in counties of the first class and the City of St. Louis from requiring peace officers (including the police chief) from residing within or near the city limits.

 

This bill now is in the Senate. We have been told the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the State Fraternal Order of Police have been flooding Senators with e-mails and other contacts. Please contact your state Senator urging opposition to the totally unwarranted intrusion into a local personnel issue.

 

Tax Increment Financing – H.B. 1496, the bill to severely limit the use of Tax Increment Financing in the St. Louis metropolitan area, has passed the House and been assigned to the Senate Commerce Committee. Although the bill was intended originally to apply to the City of St. Louis and the ten surrounding counties, it was amended on the House floor to require the approval of all taxing jurisdictions in every TIF project before the project could proceed. In short, any TIF project could be vetoed by the school district, county, fire district, library district or any other taxing jurisdiction. This amendment applies to every city in the state, not just the St. Louis metropolitan area.

 

Transportation Funding – S.B. 915 would increase transportation funding by $475 million by increasing the state sales tax by three-eighths cent and the motor fuel tax by six cents per gallon. Municipalities would receive about $30 million from the increased motor fuel tax. S.B. 915 has passed the Senate and will be assigned to a House committee whose membership supports a one-cent sales tax increase for transportation. The House and Senate will ultimately try to work out their differences in a conference committee.

 

Property Assessments/Rollback – S.C.S. for S.B. 688 would change the tax rate rollback procedure to provide separate rollbacks for the four classes of property:  residential, commercial, agricultural and personal. The purpose is to prevent a shift in tax liability from commercial to residential after reassessment. In effect, each political subdivision would have four separate tax rates. The bill was amended to eliminate the inflation factor (five percent every two years) in the rollback requirement unless the voters approve it in a county-wide election. This provision would be harmful primarily to school districts and cities that rely on property tax revenue. S.C.S. for S.B. 688 has passed the Senate, but has not yet been heard in House committee.

 

Sales Tax Holiday – S.C.S. for S.B. 894 would exempt clothing, school/office supplies and computers from state and local sales taxes for two weekends in August. Although the bill suggests that the state will reimburse local governments for lost revenues, there is no appropriation or even a procedure to make refunds. The fiscal note predicts a revenue loss of $6 million, and the bill opens the door for other businesses to demand a sales tax "holiday" in future years. The state should not be adding more sales tax exemptions, but should look toward eliminating some existing exemptions. S.C.S. for S.B. 894 has passed the Senate and is awaiting committee assignment in the House.