PROVISIONS OF CONSTITUTION

IN REFERENCE TO

SCHEME AND CHARTER.

The following are the provisions of Article IX of the State Constitution under which the Scheme and Charter were prepared and adopted:

SECTION 20. Extension of Limits-Adoption of Charter.-The City of St. Louis may extend its limits so as to embrace the parks now without its boundaries, and other convenient and contiguous territory, and frame a Charter for the government of the city thus enlarged, upon the following conditions, that is to say: The Council of the city and County Court of the County of St. Louis shall, at the request of the Mayor of the City of St. Louis, meet in joint session and order an election, to be held as provided for general elections, by the qualified voters of the city and county of a Board of thirteen Freeholders of such city or county, whose duty shall be to propose a Scheme for the enlargement and definition of the boundaries of the city, the reorganization of the government of the county, the adjustment of the relations between the city thus enlarged and the residue of St. Louis County, and the government of the city thus enlarged, by a Charter in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of Missouri, which shall, among other things, provide for a chief executive and two houses of legislation, one of which shall be elected by general ticket, which Scheme and Charter shall be signed in duplicate by said Board or a majority of them, and one of them returned to the Mayor of the city and the other to the presiding justice of the County Court within ninety days after the election of such Board. Within thirty days thereafter the City Council and County Court shall submit such Scheme to the qualified voters of the whole county, and such Charter to the qualified voters of the city so enlarged, at an election to be held not less than twenty nor more than thirty days after the order therefor; and if a majority of such qualified voters,

voting at such election, shall ratify such Scheme and Charter, then such Scheme shall become the organic law of the county and city, and such Charter the organic law of the city, and at the end of sixty days thereafter shall take the place of and supersede the Charter of St. Louis and all amendments thereof, and all special laws relating to St. Louis County inconsistent with such Scheme.

SEC. 21. Authentication of Charter-Judicial Notice. -A copy of such Scheme and Charter, with a certificate thereto appended, signed by the Mayor and authenticated by the seal of the city, and also signed by the presiding justice of the County Court and authenticated by the seal of the county, setting forth the submission of such Scheme and Charter to the qualified voters of such county and city, and its ratification by them, shall be made in duplicate, one of which shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, and the other, after being recorded in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of St. Louis County, shall be deposited among the archives of the city, and thereafter all courts shall take judicial notice thereof.

SEC. 22. Amendment of Charter.-The Charter so ratified may be amended at intervals of not less than two years, by proposals therefor, submitted by the law-making authorities of the city to the qualified voters thereof at a general or special election, held at least sixty days after the publication of such proposals, and accepted by at least three-fifths of the qualified voters voting thereat.

SEC. 23. Miscellaneous Provisions Under Said Charter. Such Charter and amendments shall always be in harmony with and subject to the Constitution and laws of Missouri, except only that provision may be made for the graduation of the rate of taxation for city purposes in the portions of the city which are added thereto by the proposed enlargment of its boundaries. In the adjustment of the relations between city and county, the city shall take upon itself the entire park tax; and in consideration of the city becoming the proprietor of all the county buildings and property within its enlarged limits, it shall assume the whole of the existing county debt, and thereafter the City and County of St. Louis shall be independent of each other. The city shall be exempted from

all county taxation. The judges of the County Court shall be elected by the qualified voters outside of the city. The city, as enlarged, shall be entitled to the same representation in the General Assembly, collect the State revenue and perform all other functions in relation to the State, in the same manner, as if it were a county as in this Constitution defined; and the residue of the county shall remain a legal county of the State of Missouri, under the name of the County of St. Louis. Until the next apportionment for Senators and Representatives in the General Assembly, the city shall have six Senators and fifteen Representatives, and the county one Senator and two Representatives, the same being the number of Senators and Representatives to which the County of St. Louis, as now organized, is entitled under Sections eight and eleven of Article IV of this Constitution.

SEC. 24. Courts of St. Louis County.-The County and City of St. Louis, as now existing, shall continue to constitute the Eighth Judicial Circuit, and the jurisdiction of all courts of record, except the County Court, shall continue until otherwise provided by law.

SEC. 25. Subordination of St. Louis.-Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, the General Assembly shall have the same power over the City and County of St. Louis that it has over other cities and counties of this State.

ARTICLE X.

SEC. 12. Municipal Indebtedness, Limit of. - No county, city, town, township, school district or other political corporation or subdivision of the State, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner or for any purpose to any amount exceeding in any year the income and revenue provided for such year, without the assent of twothirds of the voters thereof voting at an election to be held for that purpose; nor in cases requiring such assent shall any indebtedness be allowed to be incurred to an amount including existing indebtedness, in the aggregate exceeding five per centum on the value of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by the assessment next before the last assessment for State and county purposes, previous to the incurring of such indebtedness: Provided, That with such assent any

county may be allowed to become indebted to a larger amount for the erection of a court house or jail. And provided further, That any county, city, town, township, school district, or other political corporation or subdivision of the State, incurring any indebtedness, requiring the assent of the voters as aforesaid, shall, before or at the time of doing so, provide for the collection of an annual tax sufficient to pay the interest on such indebtedness as it falls due, and also to constitute a sinking fund for payment of the principal thereof, within twenty years from the time of contracting the same.

*And provided further, that the corporate authorities of the City of St. Louis are hereby authorized to issue interestbearing bonds of said city in the amount of five million dollars, at a rate of interest not to exceed four per cent per annum, the principal payable within thirty years from the date of their issue, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the corporation organized for the celebration of the Louisiana Purchase Centennial in said city, to be used by said corporation for said celebration, in holding a World's Fair or Exposition in said. city. And said corporate authorities of St. Louis shall be repaid as large a proportionate amount of the aid given them as shall be repaid to the stockholders of said corporation on the sum subscribed and paid by them, and any surplus remaining from the assets of said corporation after said stockholders and said city shall have been paid in full, shall be divided between said stockholders and said city in proportion to the aggregate amount of said stocks so paid in and the amount so loaned by said city; and any amount so received by said city from said corporation shall be paid into the sinking fund of said city for the redemption of its outstanding bonds: Provided, that if at the election for the adoption of this amendment to the Constitution a majority of the votes cast within the limits of said City of St. Louis voting for and against this amendment, shall be against its adoption, then no bonds shall be issued under this amendment; and provided further, that no such indebtedness so created shall be in any part thereof paid by the State or from any State revenue, tax or fund, but the same shall be paid by the City of St. Louis alone.

*This portion of the section is an amendment to the constitution adopted by vote of the people of the State and of the city at the general election held on November 6, 1900.