COUNTIES NEED FUNDING TO ENFORCE DRUG LAWS

The second major bill -- other than the Infants Protection Act -- to be the subject of an override attempt in this week's veto session in the Missouri Legislature is Senate Bill 335, a sentencing-reform measure sponsored by state Sen. Harold Caskey, D-Butler. The very fact that Caskey, a veteran Democrat with close ties to Gov. Mel Carnahan, would be pushing for an override is evidence of how this governor's influence is being called into question these days.

In the case of SB 335, there is good reason to do so. Carnahan vetoed the bill, he says, because of a provision championed by two Southeast Missouri lawmakers. State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, and state Rep. Phil Britt, D-Kennett, pushed for inclusion of an amendment restoring counties' crime-reduction funds. These are funds to which judges order defendants to make payments as part of a deal to avoid jail time or shorten a sentence.

Cape Girardeau County had led the way with these funds, which had spread to nearly 40 counties of the state. In Cape County, the fund generates up to $100,000 a year, mostly from circuit court cases dealing with misdemeanor stealing and driving-while-intoxicated charges. In some counties, the fund was generating from $25,000 to $60,000 annually. That was before the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges advised judges against requiring the payments, saying there was neither statutory nor constitutional basis for the funds.

Carnahan claims that the funds amount to allowing those who can afford it to pay their way out of jail. This is a valid concern, but we believe it is answered by the safeguards Caskey has built into this provision. Any such funds require administrative oversight by three elected officials, including a judge and prosecutor.

Talk to any county sheriff or county commissioner in rural Missouri and you'll hear that these funds provide pretty much the only anti-drug funding they can count on. Carnahan's veto should be overridden.