MISSOURI Attorney General's Opinion 39-2002
There is no provision that an authorized representative of a corporation that
owns property in a drainage district may be elected to the board of supervisors
of a drainage district under Section 242.150.
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Attorney General's Opinion 39-2002
Topics:
Drainage districts.
Levee districts. Conclusion:
An authorized representative of a corporation that owns property within a levee district may be
elected to the board of supervisors as provided in Section 245.060. There is no provision
that an authorized representative of a corporation that owns property in a drainage
district may be elected to the board of supervisors of a drainage district under
Section 242.150.
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May 22, 2002
Honorable Lanie Black
Representative, District 161
Room 116-1, State Capitol Building
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Representative Black:
You have submitted to this office a request for an opinion "whether corporate/partnership
membership qualifies as ownership in accordance with RSMo sections 242.150, 245.335, and
245.060, . . ." From the information that you have submitted, it appears that an individual was
removed who had been elected as a supervisor of a drainage district because he did not
personally own land within the district but had been a corporate representative of a
corporation that did own land within the district. Because the information you have supplied
indicates the issue involves whether a corporate representative may serve on a board of
supervisors, we have limited our response to that question and not to whether a partnership
representative can so serve.
Chapter 242 deals with drainage districts, while Chapter 245 deals with levee districts. The
provisions regarding qualifications to be a member of the board of supervisors of a levee
district vary slightly from those to be a member of the board of supervisors of a drainage
district. The board of supervisors for a drainage district created by a circuit court are elected
under the provisions of Section 242.150, [footnote 1] which provides in pertinent part:
Within thirty days after any drainage district shall have been organized . . . the circuit clerk . . .
shall, . . . call a meeting of the owners real estate or other property situate in said district, . . .
for the purpose of electing a board of five supervisors, to be composed of owners of real
estate in said district, two of whom at least shall be residents of the county or counties in which
such district is situate, or some adjoining counties; . . . at such election each and every acre of
land in the district shall represent one share, and each owner shall be entitled to one vote in
person or by proxy for every acre of land owned by him in such district, and the five persons
receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected as supervisors; . . .
Drainage districts may also be formed under Chapter 243. The board of supervisors are
elected in the same fashion as in Chapter 242. See Section 243.470.4, RSMo. If a drainage
district organized by a circuit court is consolidated with one organized by a county commission,
a new board of supervisors is elected as provided in Chapter 242. See Section 243.475.2(2).
Levee districts may be created pursuant to Chapter 245. The election of a levee district board
of supervisors is governed by Section 245.060, which provides in pertinent part:
Within thirty days after any levee district shall have been organized and incorporated under
the provisions of section 245.025 the circuit clerk . . . shall, . . . call a meeting of the owners of
real estate or other property situate in said district, including the authorized representative of
any corporation which owns real estate or other property situate in said district, . . . for the
purpose of electing a board of five supervisors, to be composed of owners of real estate in
said district, which may include the authorized representative of any corporation which owns
real estate or other property in said district, two of whom at least shall be residents of the
county or counties in which said district is situate, or some adjoining counties; . . . at such
election each and every acre of land and each and every mile of right-of-way of every
corporation owning a franchise in the district shall represent one share, and each owner shall
be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for every acre of land or mile of right-of-way
owned by him in such district, and the five persons receiving the highest number of votes shall
be declared elected as supervisors; . . . provided, that if the levee district be located within a
third or fourth class city of this state, or within any city in this state under fifty thousand
population operating under a special charter then the owner of each lot, tract, parcel or
subdivision thereof, as set forth in the final decree of the court creating and incorporating said
levee district, shall be entitled to one vote, in person or by proxy, for each lot, tract, parcel or
subdivision thereof, owned by him. (Emphasis added.)
An old levee district may be reorganized by a county commission. See Sections 245.285 to
245.545. When such a levee district is reorganized, appointment is made pursuant to Section
245.335, which provides:
At the term of the county commission at which said levee district may be laid off, or at any
subsequent term thereof, the said commission shall appoint three directors of levees, who
shall be landholders within the county for the levee district of which the county is the whole or
part thereof, one of which directors shall hold his said office for the term of one year, one for
the term of two years, and one for the term of three years, and until their successors are duly
appointed and qualified; and the said commission shall annually thereafter appoint one
director to take the place of the director whose official term expires, possessing the same
qualifications as the director first appointed, who shall hold his office for the term of three
years.
When a meeting is called to select members of the board of supervisors of a levee district, the
circuit clerk is specifically directed to contact "the authorized representative of any corporation
which owns real estate or other property situate in said district." Section 245.060. No such
language appears in the statutory framework for drainage districts. The legislature is
presumed to know the provisions of one statute when enacting another one. Bushell v.
Schepp, 613 S.W.2d 689 (Mo. App. 1981).
The issue presented is whether a representative of a corporation can serve as a member of
the board of supervisors of either a drainage district or levee district. The qualifications to
serve on the board in a drainage district include ownership of real estate within the district, with
at least two members residents of a county within the district. See Section 242.150. For levee
districts, board members are "to be composed of owners of real estate in said district, which
may include the authorized representative of any corporation which owns real estate or other
property in said district." Section 245.060.
It appears from the statutory framework that the legislature has decided that a corporate
representative may be elected to the board of supervisors of a levee district but not for a
drainage district. Because there is a strong presumption that statutes are constitutional, we
assume that this distinction between levee districts and drainage districts would withstand any
challenge. Cocktail Fortune, Inc. v. Supervisor of Liquor Control, 994 S.W.2d 955 (Mo. 1999).
CONCLUSION
An authorized representative of a corporation that owns property within a levee district may be
elected to the board of supervisors as provided in Section 245.060. There is no provision that
an authorized representative of a corporation that owns property in a drainage district may be
elected to the board of supervisors of a drainage district under Section 242.150.
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Footnote 1: Unless otherwise specified, all statutory references are to RSMo 2000.
Very truly yours,
Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon
Attorney General
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Missouri Revised
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