Layers of laws

A reader raised an interesting question this morning after seeing my story about a candidate for Perryville city marshal being disqualified for failing to pay his city personal property tax before the end of the filing period.

Sgt. Brad Pitts of the Perryville Police Department was disqualified under RSMo. 115.346, which states: "Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, no person shall be certified as a candidate for a municipal office, nor shall such person's name appear on the ballot as a candidate for such office, who shall be in arrears for any unpaid city taxes or municipal user fees on the last day to file a declaration of candidacy for the office."

An observant reader asked whether Pitts could be reinstated as a candidate under another law that seems to provide a grace period on delinquent taxes. RSMo. 115.342 states, in part:

"Any person who files as a candidate for election to a public office shall be disqualified from participation in the election ... if such person is delinquent in the payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes, real property taxes on the place of residence ... . The department (of revenue) shall notify the candidate of the outstanding tax owed and give the candidate thirty days to remit any such outstanding taxes owed ... ."

Unfortunately for Pitts, 115.342 and its 30-day grace period don't apply to his candidacy, because 115.342 involves only state taxes, while 115.346 -- which deals specifically with municipal taxes and user fees -- offers no grace period.

Pitts' situation is not unprecedented in Southeast Missouri. In 2007, municipal candidates in Jackson and Delta found themselves booted off the ballot over unpaid property taxes. If you're interested, you can find a story about the Delta candidate here and a story about the Jackson candidate here.