Lawsuit seeks to stop law limiting St. Louis County traffic fine revenue
By Sue Britt
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A Missouri law aimed at reducing local governments' reliance on revenue from minor traffic violations is unconstitutional because it singles out St. Louis County, an attorney who filed a lawsuit against the law said on Thursday.
In the lawsuit filed Wednesday against top Missouri officials, 12 cities and two residents in St. Louis County asked the Cole County Circuit Court to stop the law.
St. Louis County is home to the city of Ferguson, which was roiled by protests in the wake of an August 2014 fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer. That black majority city's budget heavily relied on traffic fines collected from residents.
Starting on Jan. 1, the law limits traffic fine revenue collected by governments in St. Louis County to 12.5 percent of their annual operating revenue down from the current 30 percent. However, the limit for cities in the other 113 Missouri counties was only cut to 20 percent.
"It is truly discriminatory. In our opinion it violates the constitution," said David Pittinsky, the attorney.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said the law was passed with strong bipartisan support.
The law seeks to stop municipalities from abusing citizens through excessive ticketing practices. My office will vigorously defend the bill against this legal challenge," Koster said in a statement.
(Reporting By Sue Britt; Editing by Karen Pierog and Alan Crosby)
