Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                      RESOLUTION NO. 54
                             102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
                           INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE BARINGER.
    5320H.01I                                                      DANA RADEMAN MILLER, Chief Clerk



           WHEREAS, the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County separated in 1876, creating
 2 the independent City of St. Louis, a city with its own county government, and St. Louis
 3 County; and
 4
 5         WHEREAS, today the separation of St. Louis City and St. Louis County is
 6 commonly recognized as inefficient and discourages collaboration and cooperation between
 7 local leaders; and
 8
 9         WHEREAS, Article VI, Sections 30(a) and 30(b) of the Constitution of Missouri
10 establish a process for the people of the City of St. Louis and the people of St. Louis County
11 to make changes to the governmental structure by petitioning their leaders to establish a
12 Board of Freeholders; and
13
14         WHEREAS, in the case of Millsap v. Quinn, 785 S.W.2d 82 (Mo. banc 1990), the
15 Missouri Supreme Court held that use of the term "freeholders" (meaning "landowners") in
16 Article VI, Sections 30(a) and 30(b), violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
17 Amendment of the United States Constitution but the term could be severed from the
18 sections, leaving a viable remainder; and
19
20         WHEREAS, the constitutional board may allow for public input from the residents of
21 both St. Louis City and St. Louis County; and
22
23         WHEREAS, any recommendation by the constitutional board to change the
24 governmental structure would require a majority vote of both St. Louis City and St. Louis
25 County residents:
26
HCR 54                                             2

27           NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the members of the House of
28   Representatives of the One Hundred Second General Assembly, Second Regular Session, the
29   Senate concurring therein, hereby request the residents of the City of St. Louis and the
30   residents of St. Louis County to petition their leaders to appoint a constitutional board under
31   Article VI, Sections 30(a) and 30(b) of the Constitution of Missouri; and
32
33           BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the constitutional board should be free to solicit
34   input from residents of St. Louis City and St. Louis County and use that information to
35   formulate any recommendations for change to the voters of both political subdivisions; and
36
37          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the Missouri House of
38   Representatives be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for the
39   City of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
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