VOTE FOR AMENDMENT 1

"Shall prohibitions against special laws that pertain to less than all counties of a class be repealed retroactively and shall charter or constitutional counties form a separate class of counties outside the classification system? There would be no direct fiscal impact. The proposal is designed to maintain existing law."

This Tuesday is election day for local school board members across Missouri. Additionally, there is also one statewide ballot issue for Missourians to consider. Amendment 1 pertains to counties across the state and the special laws the legislature writes for them. Not a very exciting topic perhaps, but nonetheless an important one for state and local government. In summary, the proposed amendment allows state legislators to recognize that all counties aren't the same and that they shouldn't have to be treated as such in the law.

The amendment contains a retroactive clause that would protect several hundred laws currently on the books that fall into this category of special laws pertaining to specific counties. Nearly every county in Missouri is affected one way or the other. Such laws form the legal basis for fire and ambulance districts, county park funds, county sales taxes (such as the holding of an election for the ill-fated Cape-Bollinger County lake proposal) and countless other major undertaking, such as the MetroLink sales tax in the St. Louis area.

At the April 4 election, voters should vote yes on Amendment 1.