A dozen towns in St. Louis County have filed suit against the new limit on city court fines.
The representative for the case, David Pittinsky, said it’s unconstitutional to have a special law that sets a different rate for St. Louis County than other cities in the state.
"The bill imposes on the municipalities in St. Louis County and only the municipalities in St. Louis County--the obligation to not exceed 12.5% of their revenues in minor traffic offense fines while all of the other municipalities in the other 113 counties in Missouri have a limit of 20%," he said.
The bill’s sponsor was Senator Eric Schmitt.
"In my view, this isn't a lawsuit against Senate Bill 5, this is a lawsuit against people and especially the poor and disenfranchised. And what makes it even more stunning is that it's filed by bureaucrats with taxpayer money I might add who have turned on the very people they were elected to represent," he said.
Besides further limiting the amount of revenue towns in St. Louis County can collect from traffic fines, the law also caps the amount for minor traffic offenses at $300 and bans towns from putting people in jail because they can’t pay traffic fines.
