CHALLENGING SB 380

Even though no hearing has yet been scheduled, a lawsuit filed earlier this month challenging the biggest tax increase in Missouri's history raises some interesting questions.

The lawsuit questions the constitutionality of Senate Bill 380, the 1993 legislation called the Outstanding Schools Act that imposed a $315 million tax increase for education without a vote of the people.

There are other aspects of SB 380 that continue to be questioned as well, such as what impact the bill is having on public schools as the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education uses the legislation to impose questionable objectives on local districts.

But the issue of the lawsuit is mainly the tax increase, which led Missourians to sign petitions to put a major rewrite of the Hancock Amendment on last November's ballot. The issue failed, but efforts are continuing to impose a limit on increases in state taxes.

One question raised by the lawsuit is what might happen if the court challenge succeeds. Missouri taxpayers this year paid substantially more because of SB 380. Could they reasonably expect refund checks?

And, if the lawsuit succeeds in turning back the clock, what might taxpayers expect in the way of sanctions for Gov. Mel Carnahan and the legislators who rammed through the legislation in the first place?

Challenges of this sort hang on fine legal points, which ultimately are likely to be decided by the Missouri Supreme Court. Taxpayers will be watching closely to see if the courts are capable of making independent decisions without regard for the political climate in Jefferson City.