Missouri Attorney General Opinions

Opinion letter to Mr. John T. Wiley

The Board of the Metropolitan Zoological Park and Museum District of the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County is not authorized to fix a permanent levy rate under Section 184.350, RSMo, for each of the three subdistricts of such District but is authorized to fix an annual rate varying as may be necessary within the prescribed statutory limits. Such District Board has no regulatory control over subdistrict funds and has no supervisory control over the subdistrict officers, employees or operations. Such Board must honor proper subdistrict vouchers.

The county dog license fund established under the local option dog tax law (Sections 273.040 to 273.180, RSMo) shall be used only for the purpose of compensating persons who have suffered loss or damage through injury or killing by dogs of any livestock or poultry owned by them and located in said county at the time of such injury or killing.

Opinion letter to Mr. Clyde Burch

No person who establishes residence in Missouri 28 days or less prior to a primary or general election can register or vote in places where registration is required or vote in places where registration is not required at such ensuing primary or general election.

A county hospital organized under the provisions of Sections 205.160, RSMo 1969 et seq., has authority to furnish food at cost to certain "shut-ins".

Opinion letter to the Honorable R. J. Gordon

For the purposes of Section 362.107.2(4), RSMo Supp. 1971, which establishes a minimum distance between a drive-in facility of a bank and a main banking house of another banking institution, the distance between the bank facility and the competing main banking house should be measured along the shortest and straight line from the building of the main banking house devoted to banking activity to the building of the facility devoted to the banking activities permitted to be conducted at a facility.

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

House Bill No. 537 does not violate the provisions of Article X of the Missouri Constitution and is therefore not unconstitutional.

The American Party is not a “political party” on a statewide basis in Missouri and therefore cannot nominate presidential electors at a convention of such alleged party. It is the further opinion of this office that under Section 120.160, RSMo, a new political party can be formed and presidential electors nominated by filing the required petitions. Such petitions must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State no later than July 31 of even-numbered years.

Fire trucks and ambulances, whether publicly owned or privately owned, operated by a member of an organized fire department or ambulance association, may display lighted red lights, or, with a permit from the chief of the organized fire department or ambulance association, may display a flashing blue light when responding to an emergency call, and the operators of such vehicles may park irrespective of the provisions of Sections 304.014 to 304.026, RSMo 1969, with caution, disregard stop signals, speed limits, and regulations requiring parking and turning of vehicles in specified directions, but comply with all other traffic laws and regulations, and the operator of all other vehicles on a street or highway, shall yield the right-of-way when such vehicle approaches.

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

A third class city cannot levy a business license tax upon apartment buildings.

Opinion letter to the Honorable George W. Parker

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Opinion letter to Mr. Robert E. Myers

The attached trust agreement between the State Treasurer and the Missouri Land Reclamation Commission covering moneys received by the Commission which are required as bond by Sections 444.772 and 444.778, RSMo Supp. 1971, is not in violation of Section 13 or 15 of Article IV, Constitution of Missouri.

Opinion letter to Mr. Henry Maddox

Opinion letter to Mr. Clifford L. Summers

Opinion letter to Mr. B. W. Robinson

Neither Chapter 382, RSMo 1969, the Insurance Holding Companies Act, nor Section 375.320 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri 1969, prohibits a domestic insurer from operating a subsidiary which it acquired on March 23, 1971, and which subsidiary was organized and incorporated for the purpose of engaging generally in the automobile salvage business to dispose of salvage obtained by the insurer in the ordinary course of its insurance business.

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Section 307.365(5), RSMo Supp. 1971, dealing with the refunding of moneys for vehicle safety inspection stickers of those inspection stations which discontinue operation, are suspended or revoked, is applicable only to those inspection stations which discontinued operation, were suspended or revoked, after the effective date of Section 307.365(5), RSMo Supp. 1971, the day of September, 1971.

The state of Missouri acting through the Inter-Agency Council for Outdoor Recreation and the Missouri State Park Board, pursuant to Section 258.500, RSMo 1969, can agree under long-term contract with the United States to provide operation, maintenance and replacement of federally financed water control projects under the Federal Water Projects Recreation Act, 16 U.S.C.A., Sections -12 and 13, and further to agree to reimburse the federal government in those projects; that under present law neither the Council nor the Park Board has the authority to agree to hold and save the United States free from damages due to the construction works.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

Opinion letter to the Honorable A. Basey Vanlandingham

1. Only a person duly registered as a land surveyor under Chapter 327, RSMo 1969, is qualified to be elected to the office of county surveyor. 2. County surveyors who were qualified for the office when elected continue to hold the office for the remainder of their terms. 3. County surveyors have authority to appoint a duly registered land surveyor as a deputy to perform work as a land surveyor. 4. The state land surveyor may in his discretion require land surveys to be made by a local registered land surveyor when no registered county surveyor exists. 5. The only compensation the county surveyor in third and fourth class counties is entitled to receive for his services, whether the work is performed by him or his deputy, is the compensation provided by statute for the county surveyor. Any compensation to the deputy for his services must come from the county surveyor.

The possession of " winemaking kits" fit for the use in the unlawful manufacture of intoxicating liquor, by business establishments or individuals who are not licensed by the state to manufacture intoxicating liquor, constitutes a violation of the Missouri Liquor Control law. However, this law does not prohibit the possession of winemaking equipment that is held for sale exclusively to businesses or individuals holding a state license to manufacture wine.

Rules and regulations proposed by the Commissioner of Finance providing that state banks and trust companies may purchase securities of a corporation carrying on a project which is predominantly service, community or public in nature when such purchase has been authorized by the Comptroller of the Currency as a proper investment for national banking associations are a valid exercise of his rule making authority and may be enacted if approved by the State Banking Board.

Section 118.510, RSMo 1969 is valid.

After a county library district has been in existence for five years there is no limitation on the frequency with which the proposition to reconsider a library district's tax rate can be submitted to the people at the annual election. Said annual election is the annual school election held on the first Tuesday in April of each year.

Counties may cooperate with each other and expend county funds under the provisions of Section 70.210, RSMo 1969 et seq., within appropriate limitations, by becoming members of an association of counties for the purposes of research in the field of local government, providing training for county officials, providing information for the efficient operation of county government and supporting or opposing legislation affecting such counties.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Phil Snowden

Opinion letter to the Honorable E. Richard Webber

Opinion letter to the Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

A fire protection district located in a county of the first class may use the intangible personal property taxes it receives for pensioning of its firemen provided a majority of the qualified voters casting votes vote in favor of pensioning the salaried members of the fire department as provided under Section 321.600, RSMo 1969.

A person is not eligible for the office of sheriff unless he has resided in the county for more than one whole year next before filing for said office whether he files by declaration of candidacy or by nominating petition. The time for such filing is on or before five p.m. on the last Tuesday of April preceding the primary. The clerk of the county court may refuse the filing of such a person who does not possess the requisite residency eligibility.

Opinion letter to Mr. Robert E. Myers

Opinion letter to the Honorable Hayden Morgan

Opinion letter to Mr. Dexter D. Davis

Opinion letter to Mr. G. L. Donahoe

1. The requirement of one year’s residence in the state as a condition to voting established by Article VIII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution and Section 111.021 RSMo 1969 is unconstitutional and void. 2. If the durational requirement of sixty days residence in a county, city or town as a condition to voting is held valid by the court in the case now pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, such duration of residence will be required as a condition for voting at the November election but such duration of residence is not required in order to vote at the preceding primary election. 3. Any otherwise qualified person who is a resident of the City of St. Louis at the time of registration, regardless of the duration of his residence, may register to vote at the primary at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. on the day preceding the primary election date as provided in Section 118.240, RSMo Supp. 1971. 4. The St. Louis City Election Board should register all residents of such city who apply before 5:00 p.m. on the day preceding the August 1972 primary date if they have all other constitutional qualifications. Such persons are entitled to vote in the 1972 primary.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Joe A. Johnson

Senate Bill No. 488 of the Second Regular Session of the General Assembly is unconstitutional because it authorizes the Senate and House of Representatives to determine, by resolution, the number of their officers and employees in excess of the limitations imposed by Article , Section 17 of the Missouri Constitution.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

A coroner in a county of the fourth class does not have the authority to prepare and submit a certificate of death to the local registrar when a death has allegedly occurred in the county but the body of the decedent has not been discovered.

A fire protection district may enact a rule or regulation requiring all future firemen to reside within the fire protection district.

Opinion letter to Mr. James Flanagan