The home-rule amendment, known more formally as Constitutional
Amendment No. 1, is designed to give St. Louis "home rule" authority
to make changes in local government as they affect county offices such
as the sheriff, treasurer and license collector. (The offices
involved are those of circuit attorney, circuit clerk, revenue
collector, license collector, public administrator, deed recorder,
sheriff and treasurer.) Under current law, those decisions are made
by the General Assembly (the state legislature).
Under the Missouri Constitution, counties that reach a population of
85,000 are entitled to home rule, which means that they can make
decisions affecting county responsibilities, such has how the offices
are organized. However, a quirk in the constitution -- it's related
to the fact that St. Louis is both a city and the county -- means that
St. Louis doesn't have home rule. As a result, certain decisions
(such as the sheriff's salary) must be decided by the General Assembly
rather than by St. Louis aldermen.
By itself, passage of the amendment would make no changes in how St.
Louis local government is structured. But it would give St. Louis the
right to make those changes just as other large counties can.
The amendment appears to have the strong support of civil leaders as
well as St. Louis groups across the political spectrum. The basic
argument for it is that St. Louis should have the same authority that
other counties do, and that the General Assembly has better things to
do than decide issues that should be decided by St. Louis. There
appears to be little organized opposition, although it has drawn
skepticism from some who feel that the amendment is a power grab by
leaders in St. Louis.
The measure has to be voted upon by the full state, not just St. Louis
voters, because it requires a change in the state constitution.
Here are some sites that explain the proposal further:
Memphis Democrat
The newspaper offers its perspective on the amendment.
http://www.memphisdemocrat.com/2002/news/021031_election.shtml
Lawson Review: Plain Language explanation for November ballot issues
This pages has brief explanation of the issue.
http://12.14.205.58/clientservices/DisplayNews.asp?showfilename=40198&pubcode=LWR
Bolivar Herald-Free Press
The newspaper explains its editorial endorsement of the amendment.
http://www.zwire.com/site/News.cfm?BRD=48&dept_id=436922&newsid=5796268&PAG=461&rfi=9
A Stealth Issue
An article in the Post-Dispatch explains why people living outside St.
Louis are voting on this.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/0EACF5BD1EEF2CAD86256C5F00611416?OpenDocument&Headline=A%20stealth%20issue
BAMSL Endorses Amendment 1 Home Rule for St. Louis
The bar association explains its reasons for backing the amendment.
http://www.bamsl.org/
Citizens for Home Rule
Advocates offer plenty of information on the proposal.
http://www.stlhomerule.org/
Yes on Amendment No. 1
The St. Louis newspaper endorses the proposal.
http://home.post-dispatch.com/channel%5Cpdweb.nsf/TodaySaturday/86256A0E0068FE5086256C5E00456F2B?OpenDocument
FOCUS St. Louis
A group supporting the amendment explains the reason for it and the
process that would take place after the election if it is approved.
http://www.focus-stl.org/publ/pdf/conn-2001-winter.pdf
Best wishes in the upcoming election,
mvguy-ga
Note: Most of the above links are from newspapers, and they could go
quickly out of date. You may be able to find more recent information
using the search links below.
Google News search term: "home rule" st. louis
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=%22home+rule%22+st.+louis&btnG=Google+Search
Google search term: "home rule" "st. louis"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22home+rule%22+%22st.+louis%22&sourceid=opera&num=25&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8 |
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