Missouri AG Opinions — 1974

A magistrate judge over the age of sixty-five who has served as a magistrate judge or as a justice of the peace in the state of Missouri for a period of time totaling an aggregate of twelve years and who after September 28, 1971 ceases to hold his office as magistrate judge by voluntary resignation is entitled to retirement pay equal to fifty percent of the compensation provided by law at the time of his retirement for the judges of the highest court the retired judge served as a full-time judge, to be paid monthly during the remainder of his life, said compensation to begin from the date of his resignation as magistrate judge.

Neither the Missouri Constitution nor the United States Constitution forbids the two-thirds majority needed for tax and bond elections under Article X, Section 11 (c) and Article VI, Section 26 (b) of the Missouri Constitution.

(1) Dentists are not authorized to conduct a complete physical evaluation of a patient and (2) dentists are not physicians within the meaning of Section 193.140 authorizing physicians to certify cause of death on a death certificate.

Opinion letter to Mr. William R. Kostman

Opinion letter to the Honorable Larry R. Marshall

Opinion letter to the Honorable William B. Waters

Opinion letter to the Honorable Donald L. Manford

Transactions characterized by the following are governed by the Retail Credit Sales Act: (1) the seller is a retail seller; (2) the buyer is a retail buyer; (3) the subject matter of the transaction consists of goods or services having a cash sale price of less than $7,500; and (4) payment therefor, whether lump sum or periodic, is deferred. If the transaction is effected pursuant to a retail charge agreement, no separate charge may be assessed by the merchant for the buyer’s failure to pay the amount due within the time stated; in that event, the delinquent amount becomes part of the unpaid balance subject to the permissible statutory monthly time charge. If the transaction is effected under a retail time contract and if the contract so provides, the merchant can assess a separate charge for the buyer’s default on an installment due within the permissible statutory limits. Finally, the Missouri usury law does not prohibit merchants from assessing a reasonable charge for handling dishonored checks tendered for payment of goods purchased, provided the purchaser has prior notice of the merchant’s policy. If, however, the check was tendered as payment of an amount due under a retail charge agreement or retail time contract, the amount or rate of such charge would be governed by the Retail Credit Sales Act.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James C. Kirkpatrick

Opinion letter to Mr. Edwin Pruitt , Jr.

Opinion letter to Harold P. , M.D.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Frank

Opinion letter to Mr. James L. Wilson

Opinion letter to Mr. James Wilson

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

Opinion letter to Mr. Jack K. Smith

Opinion letter to the Honorable James F. Conway

The positions of member of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and board member of a Missouri Junior college district or trustee or regent of a state university are incompatible and one person may not hold both positions at the same time.

Opinion letter to the Honorable William Fickle

The judicial district committee of the Judicial Circuit of each political party shall be composed of the chairman and vice chairman of the county committees of Washington and Jefferson Counties and the chairman and vice chairman of the 122nd , 123rd and 124th legislative districts. The nominations may be made by the committee members holding such offices between August 13, 1974 and the third Tuesday in August 1974, and if not made by such committee members, may be made by the committee members elected the third Tuesday in August 1974.

The judicial district committees of the twentieth judicial circuit are composed of the chairman and vice chairman of the county committees of Franklin, Gasconade and Osage Counties and if there are parts of cities included in the twentieth judicial circuit, the ward committeemen and committeewomen from the wards in whole or in part in such parts of such cities are also included as members of the judicial district committee of the twentieth circuit.

Opinion letter to Mr. Carl Noren

Opinion letter to Mr. Charles O'Halloran

Opinion letter to Mr. Robert L. James

Opinion letter to Dr. Arthur L. Mallory

Opinion letter to the Honorable William L. Mauck

Opinion letter to the Honorable Thomas W. Shannon

Opinion letter to the Honorable James F. McHenry

Opinion letter to Mr. James R. Spradling

Opinion letter to the Honorable Christopher S. Bond

Opinion letter to Mr. G. L. Donahoe

Opinion letter to the Honorable C. E. Hamilton, Jr.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Frank

Opinion letter to the Honorable David Q. Reed

(1) The positions of executive secretary of the Air Conservation Commission, Clean Water Commission, and Inter-Agency Council for Outdoor Recreation are abolished and the director of the Department of Natural Resources shall cause the policies of these boards to be executed and directors of staff shall be appointed by the director of the department to service these agencies, (2) there is no position comparable to “executive secretary” for the Soil and Water Districts Commission and the director of the department shall cause the policies of this commission to be executed and shall appoint a director of staff to service the commission; (3) the director of the department shall cause the policies of the Oil and Gas Council to be executed and shall appoint a state geologist who shall serve as director of staff to the council; (4) the position of director of the Land Reclamation Commission continues and the commission shall select such director who shall be the “director of staff”; and (5) none of the above positions are merit positions under Chapter 36, RSMo.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Kenneth J. Rothman

Under the provisions of Senate Bill No. 1, General Assembly, First Extraordinary Session, where a division is created by statute and an existing agency is transferred to it by "Type I" transfer, the department head has the power that he would if the agency were transferred by "Type I" transfer to the department, except he may not abolish the division and he may not assign the function of the previously existing agency to another division in the department.

The Director of the Division of Credit Unions in the Department of Consumer Affairs, Regulation, and Licensing is not required to meet the qualifications expressed in Section 370.100, RSMo 1973 Supp.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James G. Lauderdale

The gross receipts of the State Fair, derived from the sale of admission tickets, are subject to Missouri sales tax. The gross receipts from the sale of admission tickets to county fairs sponsored by fair associations, or by 4-H Extension Councils, are exempted from sales tax by Senate Bill No. 607, General Assembly (1974). Sales of tickets to county fairs sponsored by other types of private organizations are exempted from sales tax by Section 144.040.1, RSMo, as amended by House Bill No. 1593, General Assembly (1974), only if the sponsoring organizations are charitable organizations.

Opinion letter to Ms. Margie L. Butler

(1) The Mental Health Commission, and not the Governor, has authority to appoint the director of the Department of Mental Health, and (2) the Governor and the Mental Health Commission are each authorized to remove the director of mental health.

In addition to the Director of the Department of Social Services and his secretary, and the division directors and their secretaries, and three additional positions in each division, all positions included in the exemptions listed in Section 36.030.1, RSMo, are excluded from the requirements of Chapter 36, RSMo.

Opinion letter to Mr. James R. Spradling

It would be unconstitutional to appropriate revenue derived from highway users as an incident to their use or right to use the highways of the state for state approved courses in driver education in school districts.

The State Highway Department is subject to the provisions of Sections 8.310 and 8.320, RSMo 1969, and accordingly must obtain the formal approval of the Commissioner of Administration before letting contracts for repair, rehabilitation, or construction of buildings and facilities. The State Highway Department is not required to obtain the formal approval of the Commissioner of Administration before obtaining architectural documents, supervising construction, and performing maintenance and inspection, provided, however, that in carrying out these activities it must conform to the reasonable procedures outlined by the Commissioner of Administration pursuant to his rule-making authority under Section 8.320, RSMo 1969. The repair, maintenance, operation, construction, and administration of highways, bridges, and tunnels by the State Highway Department are not subject to the requirements of Sections 8.310 and 8.320, RSMo.

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

Opinion letter to the Honorable James Millan

Opinion letter to the Honorable Joseph S. Kenton

Section 20 of Senate Bill No. 57, General Assembly, First Regular Session [Section 190.195, RSMo Supp. 1973], which purports to limit the civil liability of certain persons rendering emergency medical services, violates the provisions of Article , Section 23 of the Constitution of Missouri and is, therefore, void.