Missouri voters will decide in November whether to allow court fees to fund retirement benefits for sheriffs and prosecutors. Amendment 6 would allow fees of up to $7 for each guilty plea or conviction to go toward these pensions. The Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement System made a $30,000 contribution last month to the Committee to Ensure a Future for Sheriffs & Prosecutors, which is promoting the amendment.
This donation has drawn concern from critics and lawmakers who question whether taxpayer dollars are being used to support a political campaign. “I have a legal opinion, and these are not public dollars,” said Melissa Lorts, executive director of the retirement system and treasurer of the campaign committee. My attorney and I’ve also called Missouri Ethics, says nowhere am I not allowed to do that.
However, some legislators are uncertain about the legality of the contributions.
“It doesn’t look good to me,” said Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck. I’m going to need more information.”
The fee was initially added to criminal cases in 1983 and expanded to municipal court cases in 2013. In 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court barred the fee, stating that justice should be administered without “sale, denial, or delay.” Amendment 6 would overturn that ruling.
Court fee funding debate persists
Before the court decision, the fee brought about $2 million annually to the pension fund. Without the fees, the fund received only $89,502 in contributions this year and had lost $15 million in value over the past two years.
Lawmakers appropriated $5 million in general revenue to the fund this year. Critics argue that using court fees to fund law enforcement pensions could spur aggressive monetization of the court system. “By adding this surcharge, you might just say it’s 3% or whatever percent, but for people in poverty, that can be a pretty significant amount,” said Lauren Bonds, Executive Director of the National Police Accountability Project.
Sheriff Brad DeLay of Lawrence County disagrees, saying judges still have authority over assessing the fees. If this amendment is not passed, that retirement system will be completely bankrupt in about nine years,” DeLay said. The debate continues as voters prepare to weigh in on Amendment 6 in the upcoming election.
The outcome could have significant implications for the future funding of Missouri’s sheriff and prosecutor pensions.
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