Opinion ID: 2540379
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Clear Title and Single Subject Challenge

Text: St. Louis County and CVC argue that the title of H.B. 1442 is so general that it did not fairly apprise the legislature or the public of what was contained within it and that §§ 67.2000, 70.220, 137.1040, and 138.431 do not relate to sales taxes. None of these particular provisions are at issue in this case. An extensive analysis of the case law regarding the challenges based on Missouri Constitution article III, sections 21 and 23 is not warranted in this case because the holding in Hammerschmidt v. Boone County, 877 S.W.2d 98, 103 (Mo. banc 1994), requires the specific provisions alleged to violate the original purpose, clear title, and single subject provisions to be severed rather than declaring the entire bill invalid. [5] The current state of law does not support St. Louis County and CVC's argument that the bill should be invalidated in its entirety. [6] When the procedure by which the legislature enacted a bill violates the Constitution, severance is appropriate when this Court is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the specific provisions in question are not essential to the efficacy of the bill. Hammerschmidt, 877 S.W.2d at 103-04. The challenged sections, §§ 67.2000, 70.220, 137.1040, and 138.431, arguably all involve independent tax-related provisions. But even if individually they would not withstand a constitutional challenge made by an interested party, it cannot be said that these sections are so essential to the efficacy of H.B. 1442 that the legislature would not have passed the bill without them or that the hotel and tourism tax provisions of H.B. 1442, standing alone, are incomplete or incapable of being executed in accordance with legislative intent. Because this Court presumes severability, and the challenged provisions, if unconstitutional, would be severed from the bill, the remainder would remain intact. See Hammerschmidt, 877 S.W.2d at 103-04; Rizzo v. State, 189 S.W.3d 576, 581 (Mo. banc 2006) (severing a section of a bill prohibiting federal criminals from running for office because this section violated the single subject requirement where the subject of the bill was relating to political subdivisions); Missouri Ass'n of Club Executives, 208 S.W.3d at 888-89 (severing portions of a bill governing intoxication-related traffic offenses that related to adult entertainment because they violated the original purpose requirement); National Solid Waste Management Ass'n v. Director of Dept. of Natural Resources, 964 S.W.2d 818 (Mo. banc 1998) (severing a section of a bill relating to hazardous waste because it was a clear title violation where the title of the bill was relating to solid waste management).