Missouri voters reject legal fee increases for police pensions

On Tuesday, Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal Amendment 6which would have amended the state constitution to allow legal fees for law enforcement officer salaries and retirement benefits. The proposed language read: “In order to ensure that all Missourians have access to the courts as guaranteed by this Constitution, the administration of justice shall include the collection of costs and fees to support salaries and benefits for sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecutors attorneys, former prosecutors, circuit attorneys, and former circuit attorneys.”

In effect, the amendment would have reintroduced a $3 court fee to fund the Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System. In 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court knocked down this compensation Fowler against the Missouri sheriffs’ pension systemand found it unconstitutional under Article I, Section 14, of the Missouri Constitution. This provision guarantees open access to justice for all and guarantees the administration of justice without “sale, denial or delay.” The 1986 Missouri Supreme Court decision in Harrison v. Monroe County previously determined that Article I, Section 14, provides protections to ensure that Missouri residents have access to the courts without paying unreasonable fees.

Instead of finding an alternative way to fund the Sheriffs’ Retirement System, Missouri lawmakers looked for an easy solution by relegating Amendment 6 to the November ballot. By defining the administration of justice to include the levy of legal fees and costs to finance salaries and benefits for law enforcement officers, Amendment 6 would have nullified the Court’s decision. Fowler.

The failure of Amendment 6 is a victory for freedom. The amendment would have restored a series of perverse incentives that tie pension contributions to the number of arrests, prosecutions and other aspects of the criminal justice system. There is a growing number proof that law enforcement practices may be influenced by budget considerations unrelated to public safety. Local authorities, for example, can respond to this losses in tax revenue Through increasing traffic citations. Diverting law enforcement resources to revenue-generating activities can also impact public safety. Local governments that lean more heavily Based on citation revenue, violent and property crimes are solved at lower rates on average.

Missouri is no stranger to the perverse incentives created by its government’s reliance on court fines and revenue fees. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights. research at the Ferguson Police Department after the 2015 shooting of Michael Brown found that the city’s law enforcement practices were shaped by a focus on revenue rather than public safety needs. The focus on revenue “compromised the institutional nature of the Ferguson Police Department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped the municipal court system, leading to proceedings that raise due process concerns and cause unnecessary harm to members of the Ferguson community.” In the wake of the DOJ investigation, Missouri was adopted legislation with court fines and fees capped at 20 percent of local government revenue.

Law enforcement and the courts are core functions of government that should be funded with legislative appropriations, not reimbursements. Revenue from judicial fines and fees is unstable, and a large portion of revenue is lost not collected. While proponents of Amendment 6 are right to be concerned about the solvency of the Sheriffs’ Retirement System, relying on such a revenue source to cover pension obligations violates some basic principles of public finance. Governments are legally obliged to fund the pension benefits they have promised to public servants, and pension obligations are always fixed. Revenues from fines and fees may reach a plateau, while pension liabilities – and the employer contributions needed to fund them each year – continue to rise. The long-term solvency of pensions requires financing discipline and good methods.

Too often, courts are seen as piggy banks that can be raided to cover government excesses. Now that voters have firmly rejected such practices, lawmakers and local governments will have to follow kitchen table economics, reprioritize their funding and adjust spending plans. Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s administration has proposed a two-year credit totaling $5 million to temporarily cover pension contributions, allowing more time to develop a workable financing solution.