(JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., AP) — A veto by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon of legislation aimed at preventing local governments from raising minimum wages has left Missouri cities in murky legal territory over whether such ordinances are allowed under current law.
The Friday veto comes at a time when city officials in St. Louis and Kansas city are weighing whether to adopt higher minimum wages. But city leaders, opponents of higher minimum wages and others are at odds over whether those actions would even be legal.
The bill vetoed by Nixon would have brought clarity to the situation, clearly outlawing such ordinances passed after Aug. 28. But without such guidance, those for and against higher wages are left to grapple with conflicting interpretations of a contested state law.
At issue is a 1998 law that banned counties and cities in the state’s most-populated counties from enacting minimum wages higher than those set by the state. The ban did not appear to apply to towns in many of Missouri’s rural counties.
The law underwent scrutiny after St. Louis voters in August 2000 approved a local ballot initiative requiring a higher “living wage” to be paid to employees of any entity with a city contract of at least $50,000, or any entity receiving at least $100,000 of economic development incentives from the city.
Business associations and other opponents challenged the local law in court and were partially successful.
St. Louis Circuit Judge Robert Dierker struck down the “living wage” ordinances on several grounds, in part because he said it was unconstitutionally vague. But he said the 1998 state law barring higher local minimum wages violated the state constitution based on procedural concerns about how the measure was passed by lawmakers. However, he did not directly rule on the law’s constitutionality.
When businesses appealed Dierker’s decision, the case was dismissed by the Missouri Supreme Court because, in essence, they won their lawsuit when the ordinance was overturned.
Typically, a decision by one state circuit court judge is not binding in other courts, University of Missouri-Kansas City constitutional law scholar and professor Allen Rostron said. The absence of a higher court ruling has led to sweeping differences in interpretation of whether the 1998 law still stands.
“We question the legality of passing a city ordinance when a state statute says they can’t pass something greater than the state minimum wage,” said Bud Nicol, director of the Hotel and Lodging Association of Greater Kansas City.
The Associated Industries of Missouri and Missouri Municipal League have taken a similar stance. Associated Industries of Missouri President and CEO Ray McCarty also said he believes that Dierker only voiced an opinion on the constitutionality of the state law, but did not actually issue a ruling on it.
An attorney for the city of St. Louis has written that the 1998 statute was declared unconstitutional.
“Those for and against the ability of Kansas City to go above that are actually using the same case law as far as their arguments,” Kansas City Councilmember Scott Wagner said.
In Rostron’s words, “uncertainty reigns.” He said the matter likely must be resolved in court.
More legal battles could come soon. Wagner said Kansas City councilmembers intend to act on a proposed hike of $13 an hour this week and “wait to see what courts would say.”
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Local control bill is HB 722.
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Online:
Missouri House: http://www.house.mo.gov
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Associated Press writers David A. Lieb in Jefferson City and Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City contributed to this report. Follow Summer Ballentine at https://twitter.com/esballentine