Missouri Attorney General Opinions

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Ed Bushmeyer

County court judges of second class counties are not authorized to charge the county mileage for travel from their home to the courthouse for meetings of the court.

Under the provisions of Senate Bill No. 247, General Assembly, county collectors are required to deduct from property tax collections for each taxing authority, except the State, each authority's share of the estimated costs incurred under reassessment plans approved by the State Tax Commission. The first deduction is to be made from taxes due December 31, 1979.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable C. E. Hamilton, Jr.

If a drug offender, otherwise qualifying for expungement of his conviction under § 195.290, RSMo 1978, receives any disposition of his offense other than judicial probation, he is not entitled to the expungement of his conviction under this statute.

Opinion Letter to Mr. Fred A. Lafser

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Harriett Woods

For the purposes of §§ 105.300, et seq., RSMo Supp. 1979, providing for social security tax reporting, the city attorney elected pursuant to § 77.370, RSMo 1978, is an employee of a third class city; the city counselor appointed under § 98.340, RSMo 1978, is an employee of a third class city; a special attorney appointed under § 98.340, RSMo 1978, is not an employee of a third class city. The city attorney of a fourth class city under § 79.230, RSMo 1978, is an employee of a fourth class city. Depending upon the legal relationship as defined by ordinance, under § 79.230, RSMo 1978, a special counsel may become an employee of a city as assistant city attorney for social security purposes. A town or village may have an attorney who would be an employee pursuant to § 105.300(2), RSMo Supp. 1979, or may employ a special counsel who would be an independent contractor but the nature of the relationship would depend upon the ordinance and agreement with that particular attorney.

The opinion of this office is as follows: 1. The provisions of subsection 3 of § 169.055 RSMo 1978, relating to the eligibility of a teacher to receive military service credit for military duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America during an emergency involving national defense have been preempted to the extent that they are in conflict with § 2024 of Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the United States Code Annotated. 2. A teacher is eligible to receive military service credit as a member of the Public School Retirement System of Missouri upon meeting all other statutory requirements of § 169.055 RSMo 1978.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

Opinion Letter to The Honorable John Dennis

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Robert Jackson

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Al Nilges

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Betty C. Hearnes

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Edwin L. Dirck

Opinion Letter to Mr. F. M. Wilson

The State Board of Health has authority to determine policy for the Division of Health.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Abe R. Paul

Opinion Letter to The Honorable James Antonio

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Gary E. Stevenson

A county collector is required to pay into the county treasury the fees received by him under §§ 139.090 and 150.150, as amended by House Bill No. 148, General Assembly, respecting the collection of a one dollar fee for duplicate personal property tax receipts issued by him and a five dollar fee for the issuance of certain vendors' licenses.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Daniel M. Buescher

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Patrick Dougherty

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Hardin C.

Opinion Letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Leary G. Skinner

Opinion Letter to The Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Philip R. Pruett

House Bill No. 148 of the General Assembly, which authorizes a three dollar charge by the county clerk for various services performed by him does not authorize the clerk to charge for filing certain reports or statements required to be filed with his office under the Campaign Finance Disclosure Law, Chapter 130, RSMo 1978, as amended by Senate Bill No. 129, General Assembly.

Emergency mental health coordinators may not be held civilly or criminally liable for requesting or authorizing emergency involuntary civil commitments pursuant to their authority under § 202.123.3, S.B. 423, Gen. Assembly provided that such commitment was performed in good faith and without gross negligence.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Frank

With respect to § 343.080, RSMo, and § 343.090, RSMo, concerning auctioneers' license fees, such fees under § 343.080, which are required to be paid to the county clerk for the issuance of auctioneers' licenses, are levies on behalf of the state, and the clerk should account to the state of Missouri for such fees. The county clerk's fee under § 343.090 is a separate fee of two dollars for the issuance of such auctioneers' licenses to be paid by the clerk into the county general revenue fund.

Under the contract and the arrangement presently existing in connection with the ultra machines, as described in the facts set out above, the use of such machines does not constitute branch banking. This office defers any judgment as to the use of the machine for the transfer of money from a customer's checking account to his savings account until that matter is resolved in the appropriate forum. We recommend, however, that that function be eliminated from the machine until such time as the issues concerning that function have been fully and properly resolved. Further, we do not offer an opinion concerning interstate use of the ultra machine.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable John T. Russell and The Honorable Morris Westfall

If an individual is convicted of supplying intoxicating liquor to a minor, there is no violation of § 311.060 RSMo or Regulation 11 70-2.140(13).

Section 483.617, as enacted by House Bill No. 1634 of the General Assembly, refers only to fees chargeable against the county upon dismissal of criminal cases and is ineffective insofar as it purports to nullify provisions of statutes relative to costs in criminal cases resulting in conviction or acquittal.

House Bill No. 148 of the General Assembly, which authorizes a $3.00 charge by the county clerk for various services performed by him, does not authorize the clerk's charging for certain election procedures.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Truman E. Wilson

Neither the provisions of Art. , § 14, Mo. Constitution (as amended in 1978), nor the provisions of C.C.S. No. 2 for H.B. No. 130 of the General Assembly, both of which require actuarial evaluation of certain public retirement plan changes which increase benefits apply to a proposed, but not yet introduced, house joint resolution which would purport to amend Art. VI, § 25, of the Missouri Constitution to allow certain counties and municipalities to provide for the payment of periodic cost of living increases in pension and retirement benefits to law enforcement and fire personnel.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Glenn H. Binger

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Edwin L. Dirck

A third class city does not have authority to provide free space to a chamber of commerce or a state license fee agent. A third class city does not have authority to rent an office to a state license fee agent at less than a reasonable rent, and such a city does not have authority to donate money to private not-for-profit corporations.

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Kenneth W. Shrum

Opinion Letter to The Honorable Stephen R. Sharp

Government employees doing “accounting work” which does not rise to the level of activity governed by Chapter 326, RSMo 1978, are not engaged in the “practice of public accounting” as that term is used in Section 326.210, RSMo 1978.

Opinion Letter to Paul R. , Ph.D.