HB 383 -- Appointment of Judicial Personnel

Co-Sponsors:  Hoppe, Smith

This bill changes the law relating to the appointment of
judicial personnel.  In its major provisions, the bill:

(1)  Transfers from the Circuit Clerk to the County Clerk
certain duties relating to the salary commission of nonchartered
counties;

(2)  Allows counties with combined offices of Circuit Clerk and
Recorder of Deeds to separate the offices by voting to approve a
system of appointed circuit clerks;

(3)  Establishes an additional fee of $10 to be collected by the
recorders of deeds for recording any instrument.  All of these
fees must be paid to the State Courts Administrator who
distributes to the counties having a system of appointed clerks
the fees collected in those counties.  The counties must use 20%
of the fees for the purposes expressed in Section 59.319, RSMo,
and 80% must be deposited in a special fund in the county
treasury to be used for the costs of operating the recorder's
office.  The fees collected in counties which do not adopt a
system of appointed clerks are distributed to the General
Revenue Fund;

(4)  Authorizes procedures for counties other than first
classification counties with a charter or constitution form of
government to submit to the voters the issue of appointing
rather than electing circuit clerks;

(5)  Authorizes the Supreme Court to establish administrative
rules concerning circuit court personnel.  The court is
authorized to determine the salaries of circuit clerks after
January 1, 2003;

(6)  Allows the circuit court, rather than the Governor, to
appoint a person to fill a vacancy in the office of Circuit
Clerk; and

(7)  Requires the circuit clerks of Marion County to maintain
one office in Hannibal and another office in Palmyra and
provides for filling vacancies that occur in these offices after
January 1, 2003.

Missouri House of Representatives
Last Updated November 26, 2001 at 11:43 am