The Supreme Court of Missouri has ruled that St. Louis County must comply with provisions of a new state law regarding municipal court reform.

Senate Bill 5 passed in 2015.  The decision held that cities in St. Louis County must have the same percentage limit as the rest of the state in allowable revenue generated from minor traffic violations. The decision also upholds the responsibility of the State Auditor to receive reports from municipalities, which submit the information in an addendum to their required annual financial reports.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued a statement about the ruling.

“I am pleased the court has upheld my office’s ability to hold municipal governments accountable to citizens. Too often my audits have identified blatant disregard for financial reporting requirements, and outright refusal to remit excess revenue owed to the state,” Galloway said. “My office will continue to aggressively hold cities accountable to ensure they are not using their courts as the main source of revenue to prop up an otherwise unsustainable government.”

The Supreme Court struck down a provision that would have lowered the threshold to 12.5% for municipalities in St. Louis County, and 20% for municipalities in the rest of the state. The decision requires the percentage to be uniform across the state.