Mo. Rev. Stat. § 70.378 — MO Code / Chapter 70 / Section 70.378
70.378 Power to employ persons to enforce rules — power of personnel, jurisdiction ...
Status: in_force

70.378. Power to employ persons to enforce rules — power of personnel, jurisdiction — issuance of citation — procedure upon arrest — training — agency may adopt rules — violation of rules, penalty. — 1. The bi-state development agency shall have the power to employ or appoint personnel to maintain safety and order and to enforce the rules and regulations of the agency upon the public mass transportation system, passenger transportation facilities, conveyances, and other property that the agency may own, lease, or operate, except bi-state may only employ peace officers through contracts with law enforcement agencies within the bi-state service area. The board of commissioners of the bi-state development agency shall determine the qualifications and duties of such personnel, subject to the limitations set forth in this section.

2. All persons designated under subsection 1 of this section by the bi-state development agency to serve as personnel shall have the power to give warnings or to issue citations for violations of the rules and regulations of the agency and for any violation of section 70.441 (or a similar section under Illinois law) to request identification from those violators, and to remove those violators from the passenger transportation facilities or other property owned, leased or operated by the agency. All contracted personnel who are certified as peace officers shall also have the power to detain and to make arrests for the purpose of enforcing the rules and regulations of the agency and the provisions of section 70.441 (or a similar section under Illinois law). The personnel designated by the bi-state development agency under subsection 1 of this section are authorized to use only the equipment that is issued by the agency, and only while in the performance of their duties or while in direct transit to or from a duty assignment on the passenger transportation facilities and conveyances owned, controlled, or operated by the agency. No personnel shall be issued any weapons which can cause bodily harm.

3. The jurisdiction of the personnel designated by the bi-state development agency under subsection 1 of this section shall be limited to passenger transportation facilities and conveyances (including bus stops) owned, controlled, or operated by the agency, but this restriction shall not limit the power of such persons to make arrests throughout the area in which the agency operates any public mass transportation system for violations committed upon or against those facilities from within or outside those facilities while such personnel are in hot or close pursuit of the violator. Nothing contained in this section shall either:

(1) Relieve either signatory state or any political subdivision or agency of those states from its duty to provide police, fire, and other public safety service and protection; or

(2) Limit, restrict or interfere with the jurisdiction of or the performance of duties of existing police, fire, and other public safety agencies.

4. A citation issued by personnel designated under subsection 1 of this section shall be considered a release on the personal recognizance of the violator, provided that the citation shall contain a time and date for the appearance of the violator in circuit court to contest or admit the charges. Any violator failing to appear in circuit court when required to do so shall be subject to arrest upon order of the court. The circuit court may establish a schedule for the amount of fines for violations of section 70.441 (or a similar section under Illinois law). The court shall allow for the payment of the fine and court costs by mail instead of a court appearance for a violation in which the only penalty authorized by this section or section 70.441 is a fine.

5. Those designated as personnel under subsection 1 of this section shall, upon the apprehension or arrest of any person, either issue a summons or citation against the person or deliver the person to the duly constituted police or judicial officer of the signatory state or political subdivision where the arrest is made, for disposition as required by law.

6. The bi-state development agency shall provide for the training of personnel designated under subsection 1 of this section by the agency, and for this purpose the agency may enter into contracts or agreements for security training. The training requirements for personnel of the agency who are given the power of arrest shall be as provided by state law and by regulation of the state agency or official designated by the state to establish those regulations.

7. The bi-state development agency shall have the power to enter into agreements with the signatory states, their political subdivisions, the public safety agencies located in those states, and agencies of the federal government for mutual assistance and for the delineation of the functions and responsibilities between those designated as personnel under subsection 1 of this section and the duly constituted police, fire and other public safety agencies.

8. The bi-state development agency shall have the power to adopt rules and regulations for the proper operation of its passenger transportation facilities and conveyances and for the proper conduct by all persons making use of its facilities and conveyances, including its parking lots and all property used by the public. Notwithstanding the provisions of article V of the compact creating the bi-state development agency, any rules and regulations adopted under this subsection need not be concurred in or specifically authorized by the legislatures of either state. In the event that any such rules and regulations of the bi-state development agency contravene the laws, rules or regulations of a signatory state or its agency, the laws, rules and regulations of the signatory state or its agency shall apply, and the conflicting portions of the rules or regulations of the bi-state development agency shall be void within the jurisdiction of that signatory state. In the event that any rules or regulations of the bi-state development agency contravene the ordinances of any political subdivisions of the signatory states, the conflicting ordinances shall be void in or upon all agency passenger transportation facilities and conveyances. The rules and regulations of the bi-state development agency shall be uniform whenever possible throughout the area in which any passenger transportation facility or conveyance of the agency is located. The rules and regulations, and the amounts of fines for their violation adopted by the bi-state development agency shall be adopted by the agency's board of commissioners in accordance with all standards of due process, including, but not limited to, the holding of public hearings and subsequent publication of the agency rules and regulations and the amounts of fines for their violation in a manner designed to make them readily available to the public.

9. Unless a greater penalty is provided by the laws of the signatory states, any violation of the rules and regulations of the agency shall constitute an infraction for which the authorized punishment shall be a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars and not greater than two hundred fifty dollars, in addition to court costs.

10. The board of commissioners of the bi-state development agency shall establish the amount of fines for each violation of the rules and regulations of the agency within the limits of subsection 9 of this section.

11. Judges and clerks of the circuit courts having jurisdiction in the signatory states shall have the authority to impose, collect and enforce penalties for, and for failure to pay fines for, violations of the rules and regulations of the agency in the same manner as penalties are imposed, collected and enforced in the respective signatory states.

(L. 1993 S.B. 114) Effective 5-26-93