Westin Crown Plaza Hotel Co. v. King

664 S.W.2d 2, 1984 Mo. LEXIS 230
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 15, 1984
Docket65166
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 664 S.W.2d 2 (Westin Crown Plaza Hotel Co. v. King) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Westin Crown Plaza Hotel Co. v. King, 664 S.W.2d 2, 1984 Mo. LEXIS 230 (Mo. 1984).

Opinions

BILLINGS, Judge.

Action for declaratory judgment by which plaintiffs, Westin Crown Plaza Hotel Company, Claridge Manor Co., Ltd., and Arrowhead Properties, Inc., sought to have Senate Bill 575 enacted by the 81st General Assembly declared unconstitutional. The trial court entered a partial judgment on the pleadings and declared that Senate Bill 575 does not violate Article X, Sections 16-24, of the Missouri Constitution (the Hancock Amendment). Defendants then requested and the trial court granted a second motion for judgment on the pleadings and declared that Senate Bill 575 does not violate Article III, Section 21 or 23 of the Missouri Constitution. Plaintiffs appealed the. judgment with respect to the Article III allegations and we retained jurisdiction because the validity of a state statute is contested. Mo. Const, art. V, § 3. We affirm.

Plaintiffs are hotel owner-operators and claim Senate Bill 575 directly affected them by increasing the license fees charged for hotels generally and plaintiffs in particular. The license fee is paid to the state Director of Revenue and upon such payment a license is issued by the director of the Division of Health.

Plaintiffs’ first attack against Senate Bill 575 complains that contrary to Section 21, Article III of the Constitution of Missouri, the bill was “so amended in its passage through either house as to change its original purpose.”1 Their second contention is that Senate Bill 575 violates the prohibition of Section 23, Article III of the Constitution of Missouri that “[n]o bill shall contain more than one subject which shall be clearly expressed in its title.”2

The title to Senate Bill No. 575, as originally introduced into the Senate of the 81st General Assembly stated as follows:

An Act to repeal sections 193.190 and 193.320, RSMo 1978, relating to fees and compensation of state and local registrars of vital statistics, and to enact in lieu thereof two new sections relating to the same subject, (emphasis added).

The first reading was given to the bill on January 6, 1982 and the bill was perfected with the same title and passed by the Senate on the third reading February 25, 1982.

On March 1, 1982 the first reading was had in the House of Representatives, and on March 18, 1982 said bill was reported as a House Committee substitute with the following title:

An Act to repeal sections 193.190,193.320, 197.050, 197.210, 315.050, and 315.270, RSMo 1978, and section 640.100, RSMo Supp.1981, relating to certain fees related to the division of health, and to enact in lieu thereof eight new sections relating to the same subject, (emphasis added).

The bill as truly agreed to and finally passed on April 22,1982 contained the same title last quoted.

The changes in the bill’s title reflect substantive changes made to the bill itself as it passed through the legislative chambers. As originally introduced, Senate Bill 575 repealed sections 193.190 and 193.3203 and enacted in lieu thereof two new sections similarly numbered relating to the same subjects. Section 193.190 concerns state registrar fees charged for copies and searches of birth, death, legitimation and adoption certificates. Section 193.320 concerns compensation of local registrars for returning birth, death and stillbirth certifi[5]*5cates to the state. Senate Bill 575 as originally introduced merely increased the fee and compensation rates for state and local registrars set forth in sections 193.190 and 193.320.

As eventually enacted, Senate Bill 575 repealed seven sections and enacted in lieu thereof eight new sections. This metamorphosis was the result of additions made to the bill as it passed through the House chambers. In addition to the original two sections contained in the bill as first passed by the Senate (§§ 193.190 and 193.320), the bill in its final form included: § 192.050, newly creating a handling charge for test performed in Division of Health laboratories; § 197.050, increasing the license fee for hospitals; § 197.210, increasing the license fee for ambulatory surgical centers; § 325.050, increasing the license fee for hotels; § 315.270, increasing the annual fee for conducting a motel or resort; and § 640.100, establishing laboratory fees for testing drinking water furnished to the public.

Plaintiffs note that the title to Senate Bill 575 as originally introduced and passed by the Senate reflected the fact that the bill concerned only two sections contained in Chapter 193, Vital Statistics. The title declared the bill an act “relating to fees and compensation of state and local registrars of vital statistics”. Plaintiffs further point out the bill in its final form included sections found in Chapter 192, Division of Health, Chapter 197, Medical Treatment Facility Licenses, Chapter 315, Hotel and Tourist Camp Regulations and Chapter 640, Department of Natural Resources. Plaintiffs complain that none of the four chapters relate to the fees and compensation of state and local registrars of vital statistics and conclude that these provisions of the bill have a purpose different from the original purpose of the bill (i.e., increasing fees for registrars of vital statistics). Further, plaintiffs also argue that these latter provisions concern subjects other than those originally in the Senate bill and as a result the final bill contains more than one subject. Finally, the plaintiffs contend that the result of the foregoing is that the subjects] of the bill is not clearly contained in its title.

We begin our analysis of plaintiffs’ points by recalling several principles of constitutional interpretation. A statute has a presumption of constitutionality. State v. Newlon, 627 S.W.2d 606, 611 (Mo. banc), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 884, 103 S.Ct. 185, 74 L.Ed.2d 149 (1982). The party challenging the constitutionality of a statute must plead facts in support of the attack, City of St. Louis v. Butler Co., 358 Mo. 1221, 219 S.W.2d 372 (banc 1949), and the burden of proof is on the party attacking the statute. Atkins v. Department of Building Regulations, 596 S.W.2d 426, 434 (Mo.1980). Finally, we note that we are to resolve all doubt in favor of the act’s validity, State ex rel. McClellan v. Godfrey, 519 S.W.2d 4, 8 (Mo. banc 1975), and in so doing we are allowed to make every reasonable intendment to sustain the constitutionality of the statute. Allied Mutual Insurance Co. v. Bell, 353 Mo. 891, 185 S.W.2d 4, 6 (1945).

We have on several occasions been confronted with the task of examining legislative enactments in light of the constitutional limitations contained in Article III, Section 21 and 23. See eg., Lincoln Credit Co. v. Peach, 636 S.W.2d 31 (Mo. banc 1982), appeal dismissed, - U.S. -, 103 S.Ct. 711, 74 L.Ed.2d 942 (1983); State ex rel. Toedehusch Transfer, Inc. v. Public Service Commission,

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Humane Society of the United States v. State
405 S.W.3d 532 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2013)
Board of Managers of Parkway Towers Condominium Ass'n v. Carcopa
403 S.W.3d 590 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2013)
Doe v. Toelke
389 S.W.3d 165 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2012)
Beard v. Missouri State Employees' Retirement System
379 S.W.3d 167 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2012)
Brown v. Missouri Secretary of State
370 S.W.3d 637 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2012)
Dujakovich v. Carnahan
370 S.W.3d 574 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2012)
Ocello v. Koster
354 S.W.3d 187 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2011)
State v. Faruqi
344 S.W.3d 193 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2011)
Dydell v. Taylor
332 S.W.3d 848 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2011)
Jackson County Sports Complex Authority v. State
226 S.W.3d 156 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2007)
Care & Treatment of Murrell v. State
215 S.W.3d 96 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2007)
R.W. v. Sanders
168 S.W.3d 65 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2005)
McEuen Ex Rel. McEuen v. Missouri State Board of Education
120 S.W.3d 207 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2003)
Missouri State Medical Ass'n v. Missouri Department of Health
39 S.W.3d 837 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2001)
C.C. Dillon Co. v. City of Eureka
12 S.W.3d 322 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
664 S.W.2d 2, 1984 Mo. LEXIS 230, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/westin-crown-plaza-hotel-co-v-king-mo-1984.