On Tuesday, Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected Amendment 6which would have amended the state constitution to allow court fees to pay law enforcement salaries and retirement benefits. The proposed text read: “In order to ensure that all Missourians have access to the courts of justice as guaranteed by this Constitution, the administration of justice shall include the collection of costs and fees to support salaries and social benefits for sheriffs, former sheriffs, prosecutors. attorneys, former prosecutors, circuit attorneys and former circuit attorneys.

In effect, the amendment would have reinstated a $3 court fee to fund Missouri’s sheriffs’ retirement system. In 2021, the Missouri Supreme Court struck these costs Fowler v. Missouri Sheriffs’ Retirement Systemfinding it unconstitutional under Article I, Section 14, of the Missouri Constitution. This provision guarantees free access to justice for all and ensures the administration of justice without “sale, refusal or delay”. Missouri Supreme Court 1986 decision In Harrison v. Monroe County It has previously been established that Article I, Section 14 provides protections to ensure that Missourians can access the courts without paying unreasonable fees.

Rather than identify another way to fund the sheriffs’ retirement system, Missouri lawmakers sought a simple solution by sending Amendment 6 back to the November ballot. By defining the administration of justice to include the collection of court fees and fees to fund the salaries and benefits of law enforcement officers, Amendment 6 would have overturned the decision of the Court in the case Hunter.

The failure of Amendment 6 is a victory for freedom. The amendment would have reinstated a set of perverse incentives that tie pension contributions to the volume of arrests, prosecutions and other aspects of the criminal justice system. There is a growing body of evidence that law enforcement practices can be influenced by budgetary concerns unrelated to public safety. For example, local governments can respond to loss of tax revenue by increase traffic quotes. Diverting law enforcement resources toward revenue-generating activities can also have public safety consequences. Local governments that count more on citation revenue, on average, solve violent and property crimes at lower rates.

Missouri is no stranger to the perverse incentives created by the government’s reliance on court fines and fees to generate revenue. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights investigation in the Ferguson Police Department after the 2015 shooting of Michael Brown, found that the city’s law enforcement practices were shaped by a focus on revenue rather than public safety needs. The focus on revenue “has compromised the institutional character of the Ferguson Police Department, contributing to an unconstitutional policing model, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to proceedings that raise procedural concerns regularly and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community.” As a result of the DOJ investigation, Missouri adopted legislation cap fines and court costs at 20 percent of local government revenue.

Law enforcement and the courts are essential government functions that should be funded through legislative appropriations, not fees. Revenue from fines and court fees is unstable and a large part of this revenue goes not recovered. Although supporters of Amendment 6 are rightly concerned about the solvency of the sheriffs’ pension system, relying on such a revenue source to cover pension obligations violates some fundamental principles of public finance. Governments are legally obligated to fund the retirement benefits they promised to civil servants, and pension commitments are still blocked. Revenue from fines and fees may plateau while pension liabilities – and the employer contributions needed to fund them each year – continue to rise. Long-term pension solvency requires funding discipline and appropriate methods.

Too often, courts are seen as piggy banks that can be plundered to cover government excesses. Now that voters have roundly rejected such practices, lawmakers and local governments will have to follow the rules of economics, reprioritize their funding, and change their spending plans. Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s administration has proposed a total appropriation of $5 million over two years to temporarily cover pension contributions, allowing more time to develop a viable financing solution.