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Plaintiffs appealed the grant of summary judgment to the state. Plaintiffs filed suit to challenge legislation that prevented county ordinances from imposing standards or requirements on controlled animal feeding operations that were inconsistent with or different from state rules and regulations. The trial court had found that the state statute did not violate the constitutional right to farm or the Missouri Constitution’s clear title requirement.
Where counties had no inherent powers but only exercised authority delegated by the state, the new statute circumscribed counties’ powers to adopt ordinances regulating controlled animal feeding operations. The title of the bill was also sufficiently clear to put people on notice that it involved local authority to regulate CAFOs. Finally, any county ordinance that conflicted with the new law was void as of the law’s effective date, regardless of when the ordinance was adopted.
Judgment is affirmed.
Cedar County Commission v. Parson (MLW No. 79624/Case No. SC99488 – 18 pages) (Supreme Court of Missouri, Wilson, J.) Appealed from circuit court, Cole County, Green, J. (Stephen G. Jeffrey, Chesterfield, for petitioners) (Justin D. Smith and Jason K. Lewis, Jefferson City, for respondent)
