EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
SENATE BILL NO. 845
101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR ESLINGER.
3796S.02P ADRIANE D. CROUSE, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 50.800, 50.810, 50.815, and 50.820, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof two
new sections relating to county financial statements, with existing penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 50.800, 50.810, 50.815, and 50.820, 1
RSMo, are repealed and two new sections enacted in lieu thereof, 2
to be known as sections 50.815 and 50.820, to read as follows:3
50.815. 1. On or before the first Monday in March of 1
each year, the county commission of each county of the first 2
[class not having a charter form of governm ent], second, 3
third, or fourth classification shall, with the assistance 4
of the county clerk or other officer responsible for the 5
preparation of the financial statement , prepare and publish 6
in some newspaper of general circulation published in the 7
county, as provided under section 493.050, a financial 8
statement of the county for the year ending the preceding 9
December thirty-first. 10
2. The financial statement shall show at least the 11
following: 12
(1) A summary of the receipts of each fund of the 13
county for the year; 14
(2) A summary of the disbursements and transfers of 15
each fund of the county for the year; 16 SB 845 2
(3) A statement of the cash balance at the beginning 17
and at the end of the year for each fund of the county; 18
(4) A summary of delinquent taxes and other due bills 19
for each fund of the county; 20
(5) A summary of warrants of each fund of the county 21
outstanding at the end of the year; 22
(6) A statement of bonded indebtedness, if any, at the 23
beginning and at the end of the year for each fund of the 24
county; [and] 25
(7) A statement of the tax levies of each fund of the 26
county for the year; and 27
(8) The name, office, and current gross annual salary 28
of each elected or appointed county official . 29
3. The financial statement need not show specific 30
disbursements, warrants issued, or the names of specific 31
payees except to comply with subdivision (8) of subsection 2 32
of this section, but every individual warrant, voucher, 33
receipt, court order and all other it ems, records, documents 34
and other information which are not specifically required to 35
be retained by the officer having initial charge thereof 36
[and which would be required to be included in or to 37
construct a financial statement in the form prescribed fo r 38
other counties by section 50.800 ] shall be filed on or 39
before the date of publication of the financial statement 40
prescribed by subsection 1 of this section in the office of 41
the county clerk[, and]. The county clerk or other officer 42
responsible for the preparation of the financial statement 43
shall preserve the same, shall provide an electronic copy of 44
the data used to create the financial statement without 45
charge to any newspaper requesting a copy of such data, and 46
shall cause the same to be avail able for inspection during 47
normal business hours on the request of any person, for a 48 SB 845 3
period of five years following the date of filing in his or 49
her office, after which five -year period these records may 50
be disposed of according to law unless they are the subject 51
of a legal suit pending at the expiration of that period. 52
4. At the end of the financial statement, each 53
commissioner of the county commission and the county clerk 54
shall sign and append the following certificate: 55
5. Any person falsely certifying to any fact covere d 81
by the certificate is liable on his or her bond and is 82
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We, _________ , _________ , and _________ , duly
elected commissioners of the county commission of
_________ County, Missouri, and I, _________ _________
, county clerk of that county, certify that the above
and foregoing is a complete and correct statement of
every item of information required in section 50.815
for the year ending December 31, [19] 20_________ , and
we have checked every receipt from every source and
every disbursement of every kind and to whom and for
what each disbursement was made, and each receipt and
disbursement is accurately included in the above and
foregoing totals. (If for any reason complete and
accurate information is not given the following shall
be added to the certific ate.) Exceptions: the above
report is incomplete because proper information was not
available in the following records _________ which are
in the keeping of the following officer or officers
_________ .
74 Date _________
75 __________________
76 __________________
77 __________________
78 Commissioners, County Commission
79 __________________
80 County Clerk SB 845 4
guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be 83
punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars or 84
more than one thousand dollars, or by confinement in the 85
county jail for a period of not less than thirty days nor 86
more than six months, or by both such fine and confinement. 87
Any person charged with preparing the financial report who 88
willfully or knowingly makes a false report of any record 89
is, in addition to the penalties otherwise provided for in 90
this section, guilty of a felony, and upon conviction 91
thereof shall be sentenced to imprisonment by the division 92
of corrections for a term of not less than two years nor 93
more than five years. 94
[6. The provisions of sectio ns 50.800 and 50.810 do 95
not apply to counties of the first class not having a 96
charter form of government, except as provided in subsection 97
3 of this section.] 98
50.820. 1. The statement required by section 50.815 1
shall be set in the standard column width measure which will 2
take the least space and the publisher shall file two proofs 3
of publication with the county commission and the commission 4
shall forward one proof to the state auditor and shall file 5
the other in the office of the commission. As required 6
under section 493.025, a newspaper publishing the statement 7
shall charge and receive no more than its regular local 8
classified advertising rate, which shall be the rate on the 9
newspaper's rate schedule that was offered to t he public 10
thirty days before the publication of the statement. The 11
county commission shall [not] pay the publisher [until] upon 12
the filing of proof of publication [is filed] with the 13
commission [and]. After verification, the state auditor 14
[notifies] shall notify the commission that proof of 15 SB 845 5
publication has been received and that it complies with the 16
requirements of this section. 17
2. The statement shall be spread on the record of the 18
commission and for this purpose the publisher shall be 19
required to furnish the commission with at least two copies 20
of the statement which may be [pasted on] placed in the 21
record. 22
3. The state auditor shall notify the county treasurer 23
immediately of the receipt of the proof of publication of 24
the statement. After the first day of April of each year 25
the county treasurer shall not pay or enter for protest any 26
warrant for the pay of any of the county commission until 27
notice is received from the state auditor that the required 28
proof of publication has been filed. [Any county treasurer 29
paying or entering for protest any warrant for any 30
commissioner of the county commission prior to the receipt 31
of such notice from the state auditor shall be liable 32
therefor on his official bond. ] 33
4. The state auditor shall prepare sample forms for 34
financial statements required by section 50.815 and shall 35
[mail] provide the same to the county clerk of each county 36
of the first [class not having a charter form of 37
government], second, third, or fourth classification in this 38
state, but failure of the auditor to supply such forms shall 39
not in any way excuse any person from the performance of any 40
duty imposed by this section or by section 50.815. If any 41
county officer fails, neglects, or refuses to comply with 42
the provisions of this section or section 50.815 [he], the 43
county officer shall, in addition to other penalties 44
provided by law, be liable on his or her official bond for 45
dereliction of duty. 46 SB 845 6
[50.800. 1. On or before the first Monday 1
in March of each year, the county commission of 2
each county of the second, third, or fourth 3
class shall prepare and publish in some 4
newspaper as provided for in section 493.050, if 5
there is one, and if not by notices posted in at 6
least ten places in th e county, a detailed 7
financial statement of the county for the year 8
ending December thirty -first, preceding. 9
2. The statement shall show the bonded 10
debt of the county, if any, kind of bonds, date 11
of maturity, interest rate, rate of taxation 12
levied for interest and sinking fund and 13
authority for the levy, the total amount of 14
interest and sinking fund that has been 15
collected and interest and sinking fund on hand 16
in cash. 17
3. The statement shall also show 18
separately the total amount of the county and 19
township school funds on hand and loaned out, 20
the amount of penalties, fines, levies, 21
utilities, forfeitures, and any other taxes 22
collected and disbursed or expended during the 23
year and turned into the permanent school fund, 24
the name of each person who has a loan from the 25
permanent school fund, whether county or 26
township, the amount of the loan, date loan was 27
made and date of maturity, description of the 28
security for the loan, amount, if any, of 29
delinquent interest on each loan. 30
4. The statement shall show the total 31
valuation of the county for purposes of 32
taxation, the highest rate of taxation the 33
constitution permits the county commission to 34
levy for purposes of county revenue, the rate 35
levied by the county commission for t he year 36
covered by the statement, division of the rate 37
levied among the several funds and total amount 38
of delinquent taxes for all years as of December 39
thirty-first. 40
5. The statement shall show receipts or 41
revenues into each and every fund separ ately. 42
Each fund shall show the beginning balance of 43
each fund; each source of revenue; the total 44
amount received from each source of revenue; the 45
total amount available in each fund; the total 46
amount of disbursements or expenditures from 47
each fund and the ending balance of each fund as 48
of December thirty-first. The total receipts or 49
revenues for the year into all funds shall be 50
shown in the recapitulation. In counties with 51
the township form of government, each township 52
shall be considered a f und pursuant to this 53
subsection. 54
6. Total disbursements or expenditures 55
shall be shown for warrants issued in each 56
category contained in the forms developed or 57 SB 845 7
approved by the state auditor pursuant to 58
section 50.745. Total amount of warrants, 59
person or vendor to whom issued and purpose for 60
which issued shall be shown except as herein 61
provided. Under a separate heading in each fund 62
the statements shall show what warrants are 63
outstanding and unpaid for the lack of funds on 64
that date with appropriate balance or overdraft 65
in each fund as the case may be. 66
7. Warrants issued to pay for the service 67
of election judges and clerks of elections shall 68
be in the following form: 69
Names of judges and clerks of elections at 70
$______ per day (listing the names run in and 71
not listing each name by lines, and at the end 72
of the list of names giving the total of the 73
amount of all the warrants issued for such 74
election services). 75
8. Warrants issued to pay for the service 76
of jurors shall be in the following form: 77
Names of jurors at $______ per day (listing 78
the names run in and not listing each name by 79
lines, and at the end of the list of names 80
giving the total of the amount of all the 81
warrants issued for such election service). 82
9. Warrants to Internal Revenue Service 83
for Social Security and withholding taxes shall 84
be brought into one call. 85
10. Warrants to the director of revenue of 86
Missouri for withholding taxes shall be brought 87
into one call. 88
11. Warrants to the division of employment 89
security shall be brought into one call. 90
12. Warrants to Missouri local government 91
employees' retirement system or other retirement 92
funds for each office shall be brought into one 93
call. 94
13. Warrants for utilities su ch as gas, 95
water, lights and power shall be brought into 96
one call except that the total shall be shown 97
for each vendor. 98
14. Warrants issued to each telephone 99
company shall be brought into one call for each 100
office in the following form: 101
(Name of Telephone Company for ______ 102
office and total amount of warrants issued). 103
15. Warrants issued to the postmaster for 104
postage shall be brought into one call for each 105
office in the following form: 106
(Postmaster for ______ office and total 107
amount of warrants issued). 108
16. Disbursements or expenditures by road 109
districts shall show the warrants, if warrants 110
have been issued in the same manner as provided 111
for in subsection 5 of this section. If money 112
has been disbursed or expended by ov erseers the 113
financial statement shall show the total paid by 114 SB 845 8
the overseer to each person for the year, and 115
the purpose of each payment. Receipts or 116
revenues into the county distributive school 117
fund shall be listed in detail, disbursements or 118
expenditures shall be listed and the amount of 119
each disbursement or expenditure. If any taxes 120
have been levied by virtue of Section 12(a) of 121
Article X of the Constitution of Missouri the 122
financial statement shall contain the following: 123
By virtue and authority of the 124
discretionary power conferred upon the county 125
commissions of the several counties of this 126
state to levy a tax of not to exceed 35 cents on 127
the $100 assessed valuation the county 128
commission of ______ County did for the year 129
covered by this report levy a tax rate of ______ 130
cents on the $100 assessed valuation which said 131
tax amounted to $______ and was disbursed or 132
expended as follows: 133
The statement shall show how the money was 134
disbursed or expended and if any part of the sum 135
has not been accounted for in detail under some 136
previous appropriate heading the portion not 137
previously accounted for shall be shown in 138
detail. 139
17. At the end of the statement the person 140
designated by the county commission to prepare 141
the financial statement herein required shall 142
append the following certificate: 143
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I, ______, the duly authorized agent
appointed by the county commission of
______ County, state of Missouri, to
prepare for publication the financial
statement as required by section 50.800,
RSMo, hereby certify that I have diligently
checked the records o f the county and that
the above and foregoing is a complete and
correct statement of every item of
information required in section 50.800,
RSMo, for the year ending December 31,
______, and especially have I checked every
receipt from every source whatsoev er and
every disbursement or expenditure of every
kind and to whom and for what each such
disbursement or expenditure was made and
that each receipt or revenue and
disbursement or expenditure is accurately
shown. (If for any reason complete and
accurate information is not given the
following shall be added to the
certificate.) Exceptions: The above report
is incomplete because proper information
was not available in the following records
______ which are in the keeping of the
following officer or officers . The person
designated to prepare the financial
statement shall give in detail any
incomplete data called for by this section.
SB 845 9
Or if no one has been designated said statement 177
having been prepared by the county clerk, 178
signature shall be in the following f orm: 179
Clerk of the county commission and ex 180
officio officer designated to prepare financial 181
statement required by section 50.800, RSMo. 182
18. Any person falsely certifying to any 183
fact covered by the certificate is liable on his 184
bond and upon conviction of falsely certifying 185
to any fact covered by the certificate is guilty 186
of a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not 187
less than two hundred dollars or more than one 188
thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the 189
county jail for not less than th irty days nor 190
more than six months or by both fine and 191
imprisonment. Any person charged with the 192
responsibility of preparing the financial report 193
who willfully or knowingly makes a false report 194
of any record, is, in addition to the penalty 195
otherwise provided for in this law, deemed 196
guilty of a felony and upon conviction shall be 197
sentenced to the penitentiary for not less than 198
two years nor more than five years. ] 199
[50.810. 1. The statement shall be 1
printed in not less than 8 -point type, but not 2
more than the smallest point type over 8 -point 3
type available and in the standard column width 4
measure that will take the least space. The 5
publisher shall file two proofs of publication 6
with the county commission and the commissio n 7
shall forward one proof to the state auditor and 8
shall file the other in the office of the 9
commission. The county commission shall not pay 10
the publisher until proof of publication is 11
filed with the commission and shall not pay the 12
person designated to prepare the statement for 13
the preparation of the copy for the statement 14
until the state auditor notifies the commission 15
that proof of publication has been received and 16
that it complies with the requirements of this 17
section. 18
2. The statement shall be spread on the 19
record of the commission and for this purpose 20
the publisher shall be required to furnish the 21
commission with at least two copies of the 22
statement that may be pasted on the record. The 23
publisher shall itemize the cost of publis hing 24
said statement by column inch as properly 25
chargeable to the several funds and shall submit 26
such costs for payment to the county 27
173 Date ______
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Officer designated by county commission to
prepare financial statement required by
section 50.800, RSMo.
SB 845 10
commission. The county commission shall pay out 28
of each fund in the proportion that each item 29
bears to the total cos t of publishing said 30
statement and shall issue warrants therefor; 31
provided any part not properly chargeable to any 32
specific fund shall be paid from the county 33
general revenue fund. 34
3. The state auditor shall notify the 35
county treasurer immediate ly of the receipt of 36
the proof of publication of the statement. 37
After the first of April of each year the county 38
treasurer shall not pay or enter for protest any 39
warrant for the pay of any commissioner of any 40
county commission until notice is receive d from 41
the state auditor that the required proof of 42
publication has been filed. Any county 43
treasurer paying or entering for protest any 44
warrant for any commissioner of the county 45
commission prior to the receipt of such notice 46
from the state auditor shall be liable on his 47
official bond therefor. 48
4. The state auditor shall prepare sample 49
forms for financial statements and shall mail 50
the same to the county clerks of the several 51
counties in this state. If the county 52
commission employs any per son other than a 53
bonded county officer to prepare the financial 54
statement the county commission shall require 55
such person to give bond with good and 56
sufficient sureties in the penal sum of one 57
thousand dollars for the faithful performance of 58
his duty. If any county officer or other person 59
employed to prepare the financial statement 60
herein provided for shall fail, neglect, or 61
refuse to, in any manner, comply with the 62
provisions of this law he shall, in addition to 63
other penalties herein provided, be liable on 64
his official bond for dereliction of duty. ] 65