Missouri Attorney General Opinions

Opinion letter to the Honorable Sue S. Shear

Under the provisions of Section 20(a) of Article of the Missouri Constitution, the first extraordinary session of the General Assembly will be automatically adjourned sine die at midnight, Friday, February 1, 1974, unless it has adjourned sine die prior thereto.

(1) Each county having federal flood control lands should assess the federal property in each school and road district in the county on the same basis as if it were privately owned, (2) the allocation of federal leaseback funds among the eligible districts should be based on the hypothetical tax yield of the federal property in each district, and not on a simple acreage basis, (3) the money should be distributed to the several districts by the county court as soon as the proper allocation has been computed, (4) a school or road district may bring a mandamus action against its county court to compel the distribution of the leaseback funds, and (5) a junior college district is eligible to receive federal flood control leaseback funds on the same basis as other school districts in the county.

Opinion letter to Harold P. , M.D.

A nursing home operated by hospital trustees in conjunction with a hospital organized under Section 205.160, RSMo, is a "related facility" within the provisions of Section 1 of House Bill No. 1262, General Assembly, and revenue bonds issued under such bill may be used for the construction, improvement, and repair of such combined hospital and nursing facility. Nursing homes which are governed by the county court under Section 205.375, RSMo, may be constructed and equipped by the issuance of revenue bonds under that section but not under House Bill No. 1262.

The Board of Curators of the University of Missouri may assume responsibility for operation of the Residence Center in Independence currently operated by Central Missouri State University and the Center may be operated as a part of the University of Missouri at Kansas City at the discretion of the curators.

The State Board of Education may invest money accruing to or currently in the public school fund pursuant to Article IX, Section 5 of the Missouri Constitution without first securing an appropriation from the General Assembly, the State Board of Education may sell securities held by the public school fund before those securities mature, and it may sell those securities at less than their original cost to the fund if a portion of the interest received from the securities purchased with the proceeds is devoted to replenishment of the principal of the fund.

Only certain activities of sawmills and stave mills constitute manufacturing. The cutting of logs into various lengths and widths, the subsequent air or kiln drying of this lumber, and the planning of lumber for boards, without further finishing for specific product adaptations, do not constitute manufacturing. Other commercially useful by-products of this process, such as chips and sawdust are not manufactured articles. The foregoing activities are processing and are not encompassed by the sales tax exemptions of Section 144.030.3(3) and (4), RSMo 1969, that exempt from the imposition of sales or use tax machinery and equipment replacing equipment used directly for manufacturing or fabricating a product, or machinery and equipment purchased for direct use in manufacturing, mining or fabricating a product. In cases in which a substantial transformation of the original raw material occurs, such as the milling of bolts to produce barrel and heading staves, manufacturing occurs. The machinery used in such an operation is exempt from sales tax, pursuant to Section 144.030.3(3) and (4), RSMo 1969, if it is used directly in manufacturing a product which is intended to be sold ultimately for final use or consumption.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Phil H. Snowden

Opinion letter to the Honorable Skelton

A school district may use school tax money to pay the membership fees and dues in service organizations for school administrators and teachers as part of their compensation. However, the payments may not begin during the term of an employment contract already in effect, but only at the beginning of a new contractual term.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James I. Spainhower

Opinion letter to the Honorable Larry R. Marshall

A city may place restrictions upon the use of proceeds from a city sales tax by an ordinance which is referred to a vote of the people, but such restrictions may be altered by the governing body of the city, after the ordinance has been adopted, without a subsequent vote of the people.

The Personnel Advisory Board of Missouri has the authority to authorize, by rule, that appointments under the merit system may be made at a rate of pay higher than the minimum for the class depending on bona fide recruitment needs which may vary according to location.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Charles J. Becker

Opinion letter to the Honorable James A. Noland , Jr.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Robert Fowler

Opinion letter to the Honorable Max Patten

Opinion letter to Mr. George M. Camp

Election challengers or watchers may not be appointed for an election conducted by a six-director school district except in St. Louis County. Where a school election is held jointly with an election for which challengers or watchers may properly be appointed, however, those challengers or watchers may challenge voters in the school election as well as the other election.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Donald L. Manford

Constitutional charter cities come within the provisions of the State and Local Records Law, Sections 109.200 et seq., V.A.M.S.

Opinion letter to the Honorable John Twitty

Opinion letter to the Honorable Robert E. Young

The proceeds of the sale of any property forfeited to the state pursuant to Section 195.145, RSMo 1969, and sold at public or private sale, should, after payment of the cost of storage, if any, and the cost of the proceedings of the case, be paid into the county school fund.

The provision in the Omnibus State Reorganization Act of 1974 (S.B. 1) which purports to give authority to the Committee on State Fiscal Affairs and the Commissioner of Administration to “alter” the purpose of appropriations is unconstitutional in violation of Article IV, Section 28 and Article , Sections 21 through 33, Constitution of Missouri. Similar language in appropriation bills is also unconstitutional in violation of Article , Section 23, Constitution of Missouri.

Language in an appropriation bill for "personal service" such as Section 16.070, CCSHB No. 1016, passed by the General Assembly, which provides "Any monies accrued due to vacancies or delayed pay increases must be lapsed." is legislating in an appropriation bill and is unconstitutional in violation of Article , Section 23, Constitution of Missouri. Such language is severable and the appropriated sums for personal service are valid.

Section 414.150, RSMo, which makes it unlawful for any person to offer fuel products for sale in any manner so as to tend to deceive the purchaser as to the nature, quality, and identity of the product or under any name except the true trade name is not applicable to fuel allocations made by the Missouri Fuel Allocation Board.

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Members of the county board of equalization established pursuant to Sections 138.010 and 138.020, RSMo, are entitled to statutory per diem unless they receive only salary as compensation for the office which they hold.

Opinion letter to Mr. Charles L. Arnold, .

Opinion letter to Harold P. , M.D.

Opinion letter to Mr. Robert L. James

The new Department of Mental Health, to be established pursuant to Section 37(a), Article IV, Missouri Constitution and Senate Bill No. 1, General Assembly, First Extra Session, will be under the control of the director of such department. The provision of Senate Bill No. 1, which purports to vest the control of such department in a State Mental Health Commission, is invalid.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James I. Spainhower

Opinion letter to the Honorable Kenneth J. Rothman

Opinion letter to the Honorable James N. Riley

County recorders of deeds are not authorized to make reports on real estate lien searches for the Farmers Home Administration (Form -Mo 427-4, 4-2-71).

Opinion letter to the Honorable Harry Rupert Stafford , Jr.

Residents on land which is part of a federal flood control project are entitled to vote in local school district elections.

Opinion letter to Mr. James R. Spradling

Opinion letter to the Honorable DeVerne Calloway

Section 290.060, RSMo, dealing with the employment of pregnant women, has been superseded by 42 U.S.C., § 2000e -2(a) and 29 C.F.R., § 1604.2(b) and employers are no longer required to comply with such statute.

Section 292.170, RSMo, which requires seating for women at work is partially in conflict with Title 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e and 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1604.2(b)(4) and in such areas of conflict the state law must give way to the federal requirements. Therefore, an employer must provide seats for all employees or prove that business necessity precludes such seats and not provide them for any employees.

Opinion letter to Mr. Jack Smith

A county of the first class having a charter form of government may not adopt an ordinance which purports to establish a minimum monetary requirement for advertising for bids for supplies, equipment, materials or services greater than that established by Section 50.660, RSMo 1969.

Opinion letter to Mr. Charles O’ Halloran

Opinion letter to Mr. Charles O’ Halloran

House Bill 1114 of the General Assembly, Section 182.620, V.A.M.S., provides two alternative methods for the creation of a consolidated public library district. One calls for action by the respective library boards and the county court or the county chief executive officers and the other for an election after a petition of five percent of the registered voters has been submitted. If the first procedure is followed, a district is created and no election under the second procedure may be held to rescind the action creating the district.