APRIL AMENDMENT TARGETS `SPECIAL LAWS' IN LIMBO

On April 4, voters across Missouri will vote on a constitutional amendment with which few are familiar at this juncture. The amendment was placed on the ballot through quick action by the General Assembly, following a Supreme Court decision last year.

Historically, lawmakers have written what are called "special laws" deemed necessary to address specific local needs. One way or another, nearly every county in Missouri is affected. Examples include the enabling legislation that authorized creation of a lake authority in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger Counties and the holding of an election here on whether to build the lake. Another example is a special law dealing with musk thistle, which is a problem for farmers in northwest Missouri, but not in other parts of Missouri. As a result, legislation was passed dealing with the problem, but it was limited to only half a dozen counties.

Other laws included in this jeopardized category involve local taxation powers, elections, liquor sales, courts, road and sewer districts, tourism, law enforcement and fire protection, among others.

Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a special law in a case out of St. Louis County, saying the practice violated a constitutional provision requiring that laws dealing with counties of a given class apply to every county within that class. More than 500 special laws now stand in jeopardy because of the high court's ruling.

The legislature's response was the proposed amendment, its first completed act this year. The proposed amendment removes charter counties and counties with a constitutional form of government from the county classification scheme. The prohibition against passing laws for fewer than all counties within a class is repealed. Also, the amendment is intended to be applied retroactively, so that laws passed previously in violation of this section of the Missouri constitution would now be constitutional.

Given the chaos that would otherwise ensue, among hundreds of laws affecting nearly every county in Missouri, voters should approve the amendment on April 4.