Judge will wait on Missouri Supreme Court to rule on law used by Attorney General to sue schools

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(Missouri Independent) – When arguments ended Tuesday in the trial challenging a 2021 law used to sue school districts over COVID-19 mask policies, Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green told the attorneys he would hold his ruling until the Missouri Supreme Court decides a similar case.

For about an hour, Green listened to attorneys for Overland, a city in St. Louis County, argue with Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office over whether a bill approved by lawmakers violated the Missouri Constitution.

Overland cites three possible violations in its lawsuit – of the single subject rule, which means amendments must relate to the original purpose of the bill, the rule against unfunded mandates on local government, and the rule against special laws singling out a particular group.

In December 2021, Green ruled the bill did not violate the single subject rule in a case brought by local governments attempting to impose local health regulations on concentrated animal feeding operations or CAFOs. The Missouri Supreme Court heard an appeal of that ruling in September and has not issued a ruling.

Green told the attorneys that he was unlikely to change his mind but would wait until the Supreme Court decides whether he was right in the CAFO case decision.

“The last time I changed my mind on something, the court of appeals said it was inexplicable,” Green said.

Overland is suing over a provision added to the bill that limits its ability to charge fees for access to public rights-of-way. The original three-page bill to implement a “Missouri local government expenditure database,” was expanded to 49 pages and 51 sections, and the title was changed to just “relating to local government.”

The bill has provisions about scrap metal dealers, catalytic converter theft and salaries for court reporters along with the limits on public health agencies in addition to the original sections on public expenses, said attorney Joseph Bond, arguing for Overland.

There are numerous provisions, he said, that are “outside the umbrella of local government.”

Attorney Greg Dohrman, who argued Overland’s case on unfunded mandates and special laws, said the key is that state law requires the city to maintain its right-of-way and the change made by lawmakers denies it the funds necessary for that purpose.

Overland was previously charged by the foot for access to the right of way by telecommunications companies. If the law stands, it must accept a 5% charge on services provided by those companies within its boundaries.

One company was paying $48,000 per year under the linear-foot charge, Dohrman said, but now will pay only $1,000.

“By taking this linear-foot fee away, without some equal alternative, the city has lost its ability to maintain the right-of-way,” Dohrman said.

In response, Assistant Attorney General Jeff Johnson told Green that no violation exists because the constitutional provision bars lawmakers from imposing new duties on local governments without covering the cost. It does not apply when lawmakers alter the way it expects local governments to pay for local responsibilities, he said.

The purpose of the change, he said, is to make sure costs do not prevent the deployment of essential infrastructure.

“If you are struggling to find out what newly mandated activity the state is imposing on Overland, you are not alone,” Johnson said.

The bill became the vehicle during the 2021 session for opposition to local COVID-19 mandates such as masking in public places. 

Green found in late 2021 that local health departments do not have the power to impose disease-control rules without a vote of local elected bodies.

Schmitt used the ruling and cited the law passed in 2021 and being challenged by Overland, to file 47 lawsuits against school districts that required students to wear masks in class to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

All but one of those lawsuits have been dismissed.


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Rudi Keller

https://www.missouriindependent.com

Rudi Keller covers the state budget, energy, and the legislature. He’s spent 22 of his 30 years in journalism covering Missouri government and politics, most recently as the news editor of the Columbia Daily Tribune. Keller has won awards for spot news and investigative reporting.