Money apportioned to County as provided by Article IV, Section 30 (a), Constitution of Missouri, may not be expended on roads or streets under the jurisdiction or control of Belton , Missouri.

ROADS AND STREETS: Money appor t i oned t o Cass Count y as provided by Ar t i cl e IV, Section 30 (a) , Constitution of Missouri, may not be expended on roads ROADS: STREETS: COUNTY COURTS: or street s under the jurisdiction or control of Belton, Missour i . OPINION NO . 34 (1966) OPINION NO . 350 (1965) Honorable Carl D. Gum Prosecuting Attorney Cass County !\'!arch 17, 1966 Harri sonville, Missouri 64701 Dear t1r . Gum: i r-1' r--o \ 1 ·r , ~- , '-• , L i l~#:J Thi s i s in answer to your request f or an opinion reading as follows: 11 I have been requested to ask you, 'whether or not a t hird class count y can expend motor vehicle tax money within an incorporated city, t own or village, under the provisions of Art i cle 4, Secti on 3 .(a )? ' "A situation has ar isen because t he ci t y of Bel ton occupies pr act ically t he entire t own- shi p, and an equal dist ribut i on of county funds to each townshi p to be expended out- / side incorporated areas means t hat Mt. Pleasant Township, in which Belton is l ocat ed, will have far more money per mile than ot her townships. City officers in Belton woul d, of course, like to have this money expended within the city limits. 11 I have informed the city fathers that it is my opinion the money cannot be expended within incorporated areas, However, they requested that I write for an attorney general 's opinion, whioh I am doing at this time , Thank you for your consideration in t hin matter," Artiole IV, Seot1on 30 (a), Constitution of Missouri, provides f or a tax on motor vehiolo ruoi, This tax money, after deducting oertain ooatn, "shall ba apportioned botween the counties, cities Honorable Carl D. Gum and the state. " Subdivision (1) of Subsection 1 provides for the portion going to the counties and reads in part as follows: "* * *The funds credited to each county shall be used by the county solely for the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repairs of roads, bridges and highways, and subject to such other provisions and restric- tions as provided by law. In the absence of other controls provided by law, the state high- way commission shall prescribe policy, rules and requirement for the expenditure of these funds by counties, including, among other things, highway commission approval of plans for projects on which the funds are to be used . In count ies having the township form of county organization, the funds credited to such counties shall be expended solely under the control and supervision of the County Court, and shall not be expended by the various town- ships located within such counties. ' Rural land' as used in this section shall mean all land located within any county, except land in incorporated villages, towns, or cities." Subdivision (2) of Subsection 1 provides for the portion going to the ci ties and reads in part as follows: "Fifteen per cent of the remaining net pr oceeds shall be allocated to the various incorporated cities, towns and villages within t he state having a population of more than t wo hundred according to the last preceding federal decennial census, solely for construction1 reconstruction maintenance, repair1 policing, signing1 lighting and cleaning roads and streets and for the payment of principal and interest on indebtedness incurred prior to the effective date of this section on account of road and street purposes 1 and the use thereof being subject to such other provisions and restrictions as provided by law.* * * 11 OUr search of the laws of Missouri has revealed no statute directing how or where the counties' portion of the money is to be expended. Therefore 1 as provided by the constitutional provision, the money apportioned to the counties shall be expended according to the rules and regulations of the State Highway Commission. -2- Honorable Carl D. Gum Section 2 of the rules and regulations reads as follows: "All money in the County Aid Road Trust Fund shall be expended for the construction, reconstruction, repair, and maintenance of roads and bridges in the County Road System as hereinafter provided." Subsection (b) of Section 3 of the rules and regulations defines County Road System as: "* * *all public roads or highways in the county not under the jurisdiction or contr61 of the State Highway Commission or any city, town, or village with a population of more than 200 persons according to the last of- ficial census." According to the last official census Belton, Missouri, has a population of 4897. Therefore, the money apportioned to Cass County cannot be expended on roads or streets under the jurisdiction or control of Belton. This rule and regulation is in keeping with the constitutional provision; which allocates money separately to counties for "roads, bridges and highways" and to cities for "roads and streets". CONCLUSION It is the opinion of this office that mone¥ apportioned to Cass County as provided by Article IV, Section 30 (a), Constitution of Missouri, may not be expended on roads or streets under the juris- diction or control of Belton, Missouri. The foregoing opinion, which I hereby approve, was prepared by my Assistant, Mr. Walter w. Nowotny, Jr.