Missouri AG Opinions — 1967

Board of Election Commissioners of Jackson County not entitled to increase in salary under House Bill 398 (Section 113.690) during their present term.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Robert D. Scharz

Opinion letter to the Honorable Donald L. Manford

An existing hospital facility may be converted into a county nursing home under the provisions of Section 205.375, RSMo., 1959 by the county court with the permission of the hospital Board of Trustees. Also the Hospital Board of Trustees have no statutory authority to continue to control and manage the facility after it has been converted into a nursing home and that the primary duty in regard to this rests in the county court under Section 205.375.

Counties of the first and second class may adopt building codes which include provisions for regulation of plumbing installation and sewage disposal.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James L. Paul

1. A school district authorizing construction of facilities which may exceed an expenditure of twenty five hundred dollars shall publicly advertise for bids on the construction; 2. After advertising for bids, the board in the exercise of sound discretion may reject any and all bids and may proceed with the construction under its own supervision and control without contracting.

State Highway Patrol is without authority to enforce municipal ordinances and a fourth class city cannot confer such authority by ordinance.

A school board may set a tuition rate which is not the actual per pupil cost except as expressly limited by statute. A parent may send his children to a public school in the district in which he pays a school tax. A school board does not have the right to refuse admittance to the child of a school taxpayer in that district.

Opinion letter to Mr. Clyde Burch

Opinion letter to the Honorable John E. Downs

When the boundaries of a public school district which is a component of a junior college district are changed then the boundaries of the junior college district are also changed automatically to coincide with the new boundaries of the component school districts.

No deviations from the voting hour provisions of Section 111.370, RSMo., which are adopted by Section 247.180, RSMo., applicable to public water supply districts, are authorized and that only literal compliance with those provisions constitutes legal compliance.

Sheriffs of third and fourth class counties may under Senate Bill 237 enacted by the Seventy- fourth General Assembly retain all non- accountable civil fees received by them as of October 13, 1967, even though the amounts exceed the annual limits set by Senate Bill 237. Sheriffs who have received fees up to or in excess of the limits set by Senate Bill 237 as of October 13, 1967, are not entitled to retain any civil fees received between October 13, 1967, and January 1 , 1968. Sheriffs whohave not received civil fees up to the limits set by Senate Bill 237 as of October 13, 1967, may retain all civil fees received after that date and up to January 1, 1968 until the limits of Senate Bill 237 are reached.; The expenses that a sheriff of a third or fourth class county may receive under Section 548.241, RSMo 1959, are not received in his official capacity as sheriff and therefore are not subject to the provisions of Senate Bill 237.

The City of Columbia, Missouri, cannot lawfully acquire by purchase or condemnation title to property in Cooper County for the purpose of erecting and maintaining electrical power transmission lines.

Opinion letter to the Honorable E. J. Cantrell

Opinion letter to the Honorable Haskell Holman

Opinion letter to Mr. Joseph M. Rowley

(1) The county courts have no power or authority to provide offices in the courthouse for members of the state legislature, and (2) Cities incorporated under statutes of this state have no power or authority to provide offices for the members of the state legislature.

The phrases “greatest number of votes” and “largest number of votes” under House Bill No. 425, the General Assembly requires candidate for director of Kansas City Public School District to receive plurality but not majority of votes cast.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Jack K. Smith

The St. Louis Housing Authority is a “public body” within the meaning of House Bill No. 166 of the Seventy-fourth General Assembly.

House Bill No. 136, enacted by the Seventy-Fourth General Assembly, signed by the Governor on May 2, 1967, amending Section 117.330, RSMo 1959, to delete the item “White Colored” from the Affidavit of Registration, does not repeal that portion of Section 117.300 which requires the registration officer to note on the Application for Registration whether the applicant is White or Colored without inquiry where such is apparent.

Opinion letter to Major General L. B. Adams, Jr.

Opinion letter to the State Board of Education

A non-resident defendant convicted of any charge for which Chapter 302, RSMo as amended, makes mandatory the suspension or revocation of his privilege to operate a motor vehicle in this State must surrender his license to the Court pursuant to Section 302.225, RSMo Sup. 1965 and the Court must, within ten days thereafter, forward the license, together with the record of conviction, to the Director of Revenue.; The Director should note on the back of the license that the privilege of the non-resident to drive a motor vehicle on the highways of this State is suspended for the required length of time or revoked and return the license as soon as possible to the licensee. The Director also should forward a certified copy of the record of conviction to the motor vehicle administrator in the state wherein the person so convicted is a resident. Section 302.150, RSMo.

Subsection 1 of Section 301, RSMo 1959, prohibits any person from transferring his license plate to another person except for a period of fifteen days following the sale of a motor vehicle.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Thomas O. Pickett

Opinion letter to the Honorable Melvin D. Benitz

Opinion letter to the Honorable Daniel R. Ferry

The 1965 Amendments to Chapter 144 do not relieve a public water district formed under the provisions of Section 247.010 et seq. RSMo 1959 from collecting sales tax from domestic, commercial or industrial consumers to whom it sells water and remitting the same to the Department of Revenue.

The Director of Revenue may grant a refund of overpaid sales and use taxes as authorized by Section 144.190, RSMo 1959, only when a proper claim for said refund is filed within one year from the date of overpayment.

Housing authorities of Missouri have the power under Sections 99.090 and 99.100, RSMo 1959, to establish fixed rents for like housing units and are not bound to establish rent as a percentage of the tenants’ income.

Applications made by mail for absentee ballots may be made signed either by the person’s signature or his mark if properly authenticated. If not authenticated, the Board of Election Commissioners should investigate to determine the validity of the application. If the application is made in person, by the voter, it may be executed, either by the voter’s signature or his mark.

In cities of the Fourth Class an alderman may not be appointed a special police officer; and an alderman, by virtue of his office as alderman, is not empowered to carry firearms.

The records of the county boards of equalization are public records, open to public inspection during business hours, and under such reasonable rules and conditions as proper authority may require.

Policeman of third class cities outside of St. Louis County do not have authority to make ordinance violation arrests in hot pursuit beyond city limits.

Opinion letter to the Honorable William R. (Bill) Royster

Sheriffs entitled to compensation provided in Senate Bill 237 of the Seventy-fourth General Assembly during the present term of office; must pay all criminal fees into county treasury; mileage for serving criminal warrants and criminal investigation and payment for person’s meals are “reimbursable expenses”; salary provisions of Sections 57.390, 57.400, 57.403, 57.405 and Senate Bill 237 are “remunerations” within meaning of Senate Bill 237.

1. A city shall (used in a mandatory sense) meet with appropriate representatives of city employees when proposals relative to salaries and other conditions of employment are presented to the city. 2. When the discussions between the representatives of the city and the labor unions have been completed and the results reduced to writing, the agreement must be submitted to the governing body of the city in the form of an ordinance, resolution, bill or other form for “adoption, modification or rejection.” This procedure does not constitute “collective bargaining” in the usual understanding of such phrase because the results of the completed discussions, when reduced to writing, do not constitute a legally enforceable contract.

Insurance upon the lives of installment credit account holders must be made pursuant to 408.260. Companies issuing such insurance must be authorized to do business in Missouri.

Opinion letter to Mr. Charles O’ Halloran

Opinion letter to the Honorable Gene McNary

Opinion letter to the Honorable James E. Godfrey

Petition for adoption of nonpartisan court plan in 21 st judicial circuit, August 6, 1968, follows form set out in Section 1, House Bill No. 27 of the 74 General Assembly and is sufficient.

Opinion letter to the Honorable James A. Noland

Section 64.755, RSMo Cum. Supp. 1965, does not prohibit counties of any class from issuing bonds for park purposes even though political subdivisions in that county are presently taxing for park purposes at the rate of two mills.

Opinion letter to the Honorable Thomas R. Gilmore

Opinion letter to the Honorable Donald L. Manford

1) A county superintendent does not have authority under Section 167.121, RSMo Supp. 1965, to assign a pupil from a district in the State of Missouri to attend a school district of another state.; 2) The board of education of a Missouri public school district may contract with the school district and officials in another state for the providing of instructional services to pupils resident of the Missouri district where the schools of the other state are more accessible to the pupil so long as the contract does not delegate or surrender governmental functions and duties which are inherently vested in the Missouri public school board.