Certain Missouri counties may prosecute county-order violations in circuit court or an approved county municipal court, and may adopt penal orders only in listed subject areas.
*67.320. County orders, violations may be brought in circuit court, when — county municipal court to be approved, appointment of judges, procedures (Jefferson and Franklin counties). — 1. Any county with a charter form of government and with more than two hundred thousand but fewer than three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants or any county of the first classification with more than one hundred one thousand but fewer than one hundred fifteen thousand inhabitants may prosecute and punish violations of its county orders in the circuit court of such counties in the manner and to the extent herein provided or in a county municipal court if creation of a county municipal court is approved by order of the county commission. The county may adopt orders with penal provisions consistent with state law, but only in the areas of traffic violations, solid waste management, county building codes, on-site sewer treatment, zoning orders, and animal control. Any county municipal court established pursuant to the provisions of this section shall have jurisdiction over violations of that county's orders and the ordinances of municipalities with which the county has a contract to prosecute and punish violations of municipal ordinances of the municipality. 2. Except as provided in subsection 5 of this section in any county which has elected to establish a county municipal court pursuant to this section, the judges for such court shall be appointed by the county commission of such county, subject to confirmation by the legislative body of such county in the same manner as confirmation for other county appointed officers. The number of judges appointed, and qualifications for their appointment, shall be established by order of the commission. 3. The practice and procedure of each prosecution shall be conducted in compliance with all of the terms and provisions of sections 66.010 to 66.140, except as provided for in this section. 4. Any use of the term ordinance in sections 66.010 to 66.140 shall be synonymous with the term order for purposes of this section. 5. In any county of the first classification with more than one hundred one thousand but fewer than one hundred fifteen thousand inhabitants, the first judges shall be appointed by the county commission for a term of four years, and thereafter the judges shall be elected for a term of four years. The number of judges appointed, and qualifications for their appointment, shall be established by order of the commission. (L. 2004 H.B. 795, et al., A.L. 2007 S.B. 22, A.L. 2012 H.B. 1171 merged with S.B. 636, A.L. 2014 S.B. 621 merged with S.B. 672) *Revisor's Note: This section was amended in 2014 in both S.B. 621 and S.B. 672. The Revisor merged the language of this section in both bills. S.B. 672 was declared unconstitutional in Calzone v. Koster, et al., see 2016 annotation below. S.B. 621 was not addressed in that case; therefore, this version of this section (the 2014 language from S.B. 621, effective 8/28/2014), is the current version. (2016) Provisions of S.B. 672 from 2014 declared unconstitutional as violating the single subject rule of Article III, § 23; under the facts presented, those provisions cannot be severed and the bill is unconstitutional in its entirety. Calzone v. Koster, et al., Case No. 15AC-CC00247 (Cole County Cir. Ct., Feb. 9, 2016).