HJR 1: Jane Cunningham Continues Reign as Queen of Bad Ideas

GOP Representative Jane Cunningham has a strong record of bringing terrible ideas to the fore in the Missouri General Assembly. It was just a few years ago that she purchased the gavel of the House Education Committee so that she might aid the movement of voucher legislation which the bulk of the legislature has repeatedly recognized as wrongheaded. Now, Queen Jane of Bad Ideas is back with another dandy in HJR 1 --a Constitutional amendment that would prohibit individuals or businesses from bringing challenges of taxation issues they face from local and state governments, essentially stripping away the rights of the people to judicial redress of tax related grievances.

House Joint Resolution 1 (HJR 1) has begun to make its way through the Missouri House without much fanfare, and ought to be quickly stopped. The resolution, if passed, would put before the voters a proposed Constitutional amendment whose purpose is to strip significant jurisdiction from our state courts. Its language states:

Neither the supreme court nor any inferior court of the state shall have the power to instruct or order the state or any county, city, or political subdivision thereof, or an official of the state or of any county, city, or political subdivision thereof, to levy or increase taxes. Neither the supreme court nor any inferior court of the state shall have the power to instruct or order the state or any county, city, or political subdivision thereof, or an official of the state or of any county, city, or political subdivision thereof, on how to spend, allocate, or budget fiscal resources in a manner inconsistent with duly enacted and effective legislation;

The language of Queen Jane's resolution is clear, but its practical effects need to be stated explicitly. So what exactly would HJR 1's language do if appended to the Constitution?

Among other negative consequences, the HJR 1 would:

• Prevent a business from going to court to challenge the amount of property tax assessed on that business by a local or municipal government or other political subdivision. So, when Mom & Pop's corner store or Joe Small Businessman's Coffee Shop is hit with a property tax assessment they believe is out of whack, they can complain to the neighbors or cry in their cappuccino, but they can't go to court to challenge the assessment. Even if they could, the amendment would put it beyond the court's power to correct the faulty assessment.
• Prohibit Missouri citizens from challenging their own personal property taxes as assessed by the political subdivisions in which they reside. Because Queen Jane's amendment relieves the state courts of any power they have to deal with the allocation of resources or the levying of taxes, people who want to challenge their assessed amount of tax will be without legal recourse.
• Take from Missouri businesses the venue in which to challenge the applicability or amount of any sales tax levied by the state or by a local government. If you think the widgets you manufacture and sell fall within an exception to your county's sales tax, but your county disagrees, you are up the proverbial creek. Better get in good with your County commissioners, because the courts will no longer be able to rule on issues related to the sales tax if the Cunningham Constitution goes into effect.
• Strip Missourians of their ability to challenge the assessed value of a property that is being taken by a political subdivision via eminent domain. That's right. Queen Jane's new Constitutional rules say that if your township wants to take your property so that a developer can build a shopping mall and wants to compensate you at a level which you believe to be far below what you are owed, they can do so and you have zero opportunity to have your arguments on the matter heard in state courts. Such a judgment to pay landowners a higher amount would require that the court order the political subdivision to allocate its resources differently, and HJR 1 explicitly prohibits the courts from so doing.

What's more, Queen Jane's amendment would likely keep businesses from challenging rulings on whether they are eligible for certain tax exemptions, stop citizens from compelling political subdivisions to enforce tax levies properly, and probably conflicts materially with other provisions of our Constitution, such as the Hancock Amendment. More good reasons why HJR 1 is a terrible idea.

So, if you're somebody who likes proposals for taking away the right of Missouri citizens and businesses to access the courts on matters of taxation, then HJR 1 is right up your alley. If you're one of the few who do, Queen Jane of Bad Ideas has openings in her court for a few good jesters. Give Queen Jane Cunningham's office a call, pledge your loyalty to Bad Idea royalty, and get fitted for your pointy shoes. Every Queen needs a few royal subjects, and Jane's still looking for a first.