Missouri Attorney General Opinions

Opinion letter to the Honorable John

The State Highway Commission must now pay, pursuant to Section 204.051, V.A.M.S., enacted in 1972, an annual fee of $25.00 for a permit to operate a lagoon for sanitary facilities at a rest area on state owned land on Interstate 70 in Lafayette County, which permit was originally issued on May 1, 1967.

The issuance of a motor vehicle operator's license may not be refused to a person solely on the ground that he refuses to submit to a photograph, when that refusal is based solely upon religious beliefs.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Max Patten

The governing body of a city may abolish a city sales tax previously imposed as provided in Sections 94.500 to 94.570, RSMo 1969, by repealing the ordinance imposing the tax, without a subsequent vote of the qualified electors on the question of abolition.

The prohibition contained in Article , Section 12, of the Constitution of Missouri, renders a state senator ineligible to accept an “appointive office” but such section does not preclude him from accepting an appointment to fill a vacancy in an elective office. For the purposes of Article , Section 12, the office of circuit judge, even in a county under the nonpartisan court plan, is an elective office. Therefore, Article , Section 12, of the Constitution of the State of Missouri does not preclude a member of the legislature from accepting nomination and appointment as a judge of the circuit court in a county under the nonpartisan court plan.

The board of trustees of the county health center in a county of class two which adjoins a county of the first class having a charter form of government cannot authorize the expenditure of county health center funds for rabies control.

Opinion letter to Mr. James B. Boillot

Opinion letter to Mr. James B. Boillot

The county and city governments of the State of Missouri cannot be appointed by the Director of Revenue as Department of Revenue fee office agents to perform those duties set out in Section 136.055, RSMo 1969, because said duties are not within the scope of the powers of city or county governments in this state.

The taxpayers of three-director school districts assigned to school districts operating a high school pursuant to Subsection 2 of Section 162.096 shall pay the tax rate effective in the high school district or districts to which the common districts were assigned.

Opinion letter to Herbert R. Domke , M.D.

The provision of Sections 56.065 and 56.270, Senate Bill No. 515, Second Regular Session, General Assembly, relating to prosecuting attorneys apply to a county of the second class in which the circuit court sits in more than one city in such county and do not apply to a second class county in which the circuit court sits in only one city unless said county has a population of more than 100,000.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Gene McNary

Opinion letter to the Honorable Christopher S. Bond

An individual domiciled in this state who is absent from this state and who is eligible to receive a Missouri absentee ballot for President and Vice President will be subject to the Missouri income tax law unless he (1) does not maintain a permanent place of abode in this state, (2) does maintain a permanent place of abode outside this state, (3) does not spend in the aggregate more than thirty days during the taxable year in this state, (4) does not receive income derived from or connected with sources within this state, as defined in Section 143.181, Senate Bill No. 549, General Assembly, Second Regular Session. Tax liability, if it exists, is present regardless of whether a person exercises his right to vote or not, and therefore the act of voting, by itself, does not determine whether a person is subject to the Missouri income tax law.

Opinion letter to Mr. Robert Neuenschwander

Opinion letter to School Boards Employing Restrictive Insurance Practices

A Missouri school board may govern the appearance of students through specifically worded and narrowly drawn dress and appearance codes only if the district can factually justify such codes as being reasonably necessary to promote intelligent conduct and control of its schools and only if the district can factually justify such codes as being reasonably necessary to carry out the educational mission of the school district.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Jewel Kennedy

Opinion letter to the Honorable Wesley A. Miller

Opinion letter to the Honorable Clifford B. Mayberry

Opinion letter to the Honorable Charles M. LeCompt

Opinion letter to the Honorable William Fickle

Opinion letter to Herbert R. Domke , M.D.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James I. Spainhower

A county assessor appointed by the Governor to fill a vacancy in the office is required to take an oath of office as provided in Section 11, Article , Constitution of Missouri, and qualifies for the office as provided under Chapter 53, RSMo, and that he is not entitled to the emoluments of the office until he qualifies.

Subsections 6 and 7 of Section 79.450, RSMo Supp. 1971, do not grant an unlimited authority for a fourth class city to enact any ordinance it deems advisable if not in conflict with a state statute but does grant authority to enact ordinances and regulations governing matters of the same general kind and character as those expressly mentioned in Chapter 79, RSMo.

Opinion letter to Herbert R. Domke , M.D.

When the tax rate of the county library districts which join to form a consolidated district is less than twenty cents per hundred dollars assessed valuation, that the tax rate of the consolidated district cannot be increased above the rate previously levied by the constituent districts without an election in accordance with procedures set out in Section 182.650, V.A.M.S.

The Missouri Housing Development Commission, Sections 215.010, RSMo et seq., has the authority to make first mortgage loans for the construction of nonprofit facilities which will provide nursing home residential services for persons of low and moderate income who live on a permanent basis in such homes.

State public defenders are not prohibited by the provisions of House Bill No. 1314, General Assembly, from employing additional assistants to be paid from federal grant funds for the purpose of defending indigents in juvenile and misdemeanor cases.

Opinion letter to the Honorable C. F. Cline

Opinion letter to Mr. James E. Riney

A third class county which had an assessed valuation of more than $70,000,000 and less than $300,000,000, as determined by the State Tax Commission for the years 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971, will become a second class county on January 1, 1973.

Section 311.298, RSMo 1969, applies to establishments licensed to sell 5 percent beer by the drink and such establishments can sell 5 percent beer by the drink on Sunday when December 31 falls on Sunday after 1:00 p.m. and until the time which would be lawful on another day of the week.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Frank L. Mickelson

With respect to city-county library districts under the provisions of Section 182.291 (Senate Bill No. 583, General Assembly, Second Regular Session): (1) “Fiscal year” as used in subsection 5 with respect to the merger for tax purposes refers to the tax year of the city; (2) The county library district fiscal year is the applicable fiscal year after the district is established; (3) Where the city and the county have the same name, it need not be repeated to properly identify the district and it is sufficient if the name is stated once identifying the district as a city-county library district.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Thomas D. Graham

The Governor's Executive Order dated May 2, 1972, purporting to place certain employees of the Missouri Public Service Commission under the provisions of Chapter 36, the state merit system, is invalid.

An employee of the State of Missouri who terminated such employment on July 31, 1957, then returned to employment by the state on January 13, 1969, who has since continuously remained in such employment, is not entitled to prior service credit for his state employment prior to July 31, 1957.

An individual who is presently retired and receiving retirement benefits which were calculated by multiplying one percent of his average pay (not to exceed $7,500 per year) during the five consecutive years of work when his pay was the greatest, times his years of creditable service, is not entitled to receive additional compensation under House Bill No. 1178, Second Regular Session, General Assembly as a result of the change in the definition of average compensation in October of 1967.

The employment, by the Missouri Department of Community Affairs, of a city councilman of Jefferson City, who intends to run for re-election, to a position within the Department of Community Affairs, the salary of which would come entirely out of state funds, and which would be a position having no responsibility, either direct or supervisory, over the administration or disposition of any federal funds or any federally funded programs, would not be in violation of the Hatch Act, because said individual would fall within the exception of Title 5 U.S.C.A. Section 1501(4) (A) as "an individual who exercises no functions in connection with that activity," the activity in question being one financed in whole or in part by the federal government.

Opinion letter to the Honorable J. William Holliday

Opinion letter to Mr. Gary G. Sprick

The employees of a not-for-profit corporation organized for the sole purpose of promoting some functions of comprehensive health planning and to receive, via contract, federal funds which have been provided the State of Missouri by reason of 42 U.S.C.A. §246(a), are precluded from campaigning for elective office by the provisions of the Hatch Act for the reason that the agency concerned qualifies as "the executive branch of a State, municipality, or other political subdivision of a State, or an agency or department thereof" the employees of which are prohibited from actively participating in a political campaign by Title 5 U.S.C.A. §1052(a).

Article IX, Section 1(a), of the Missouri Constitution of 1945 forbids a school district from charging any fee to any resident student who wishes to enroll in any course offered for academic credit.

Opinion letter to Mr. G. L. Donahoe

Opinion letter to the Honorable Don Owens

Except for special or emergency deputy sheriffs appointed for a period not exceeding thirty days under provisions of Section 57.119, RSMo, deputy sheriffs can lawfully be appointed in a county of the second class only in the number fixed by the judges of the circuit court of such county and in the manner provided in Section 57.220, RSMo. A person holding an “honorary deputy sheriff’s commission” that is one not issued under the provisions of Sections 57.119 or 57.220, RSMo, is not in contemplation of law a deputy sheriff and is not authorized to carry concealed weapons.