Nixon Signs Bill to Limit Missouri Cities' Profit From Fines
Source: Associated Press
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday signed legislation he touted as further limiting cities' ability to profit from traffic tickets and fines, a policy goal that gained traction following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson.
The measure builds on a law passed last year that caps profits that cities and other municipalities can keep from traffic tickets and court fines. The new law will expand that to include fines from ordinance violations. It takes effect Aug. 28.
The legislation also will lower maximum fines for minor traffic violations from $300 to $225. It limits fines for ordinance violations, ranging from at most $200 for a first offense to $450 for a fourth offense in a year.
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But Brown's death and the sometimes violent protests that followed drew attention to some residents' and legal advocates' concerns about the generally white police force's treatment of those in the predominantly black St. Louis suburb, including the use of police to collect revenue through traffic fines and court fees.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/nixon-signs-bill-limit-missouri-cities-profit-fines-39948436
By SUMMER BALLENTINE, ASSOCIATED PRESS JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Jun 17, 2016, 7:27 PM ET
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)It becomes real easy to find a law being broken everywhere you look.
seabeckind
(1,957 posts)Hel, some cities even build an entire industry around parking fines and control systems.
And then there are the tolls. Enforced long after the bridge is paid for and used to fund basic gov't functions.
Can't raise taxes, you know. Easier to gouge a captive audience.
christx30
(6,241 posts)I have to go downtown. Can't pull me over if I'm not in my car.
marble falls
(57,208 posts)Dustlawyer
(10,497 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)cstanleytech
(26,319 posts)from the fines?
Chakab
(1,727 posts)wealthy and local businesses.
appalachiablue
(41,171 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)Gothmog
(145,558 posts)This is a great reform