Property law ruled unconstitutional

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A 2-year-old Missouri property law has been ruled unconstitutional by the Missouri Supreme Court because it was too broad.

The state's highest court ruled Tuesday that a bill passed in 2000 relating to property ownership went far beyond that topic.

The court noted that the bill went from being 15 pages to more than 90 pages and contained 70 amendments to 13 sections of state law.

The legislation ended up dealing with subjects ranging from land tax collection to changes in city land trust commissions, the Supreme Court said. A Cole County Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis, which challenged the law.

The Missouri Constitution requires that the original purpose of an individual bill must not be changed, that it have one subject matter, and that the title reflect what the bill is about.

"This title fails to give notice of the actual content or subject of the bill," Judge Laura Denvir Stith wrote in the unanimous decision.