Section 7.36 Regulations Must Be Reasonably Definite

• Library: Local Government Deskbook (2017 Ed.)

C. (§7.36) Regulations Must Be Reasonably Definite

State and federal due process requires that local enactments give sufficient guidance as to what is required or prohibited to individuals governed by the enactments and local officials charged with enforcing them. As stated in City of Festus v. Werner, 656 S.W.2d 286, 287 (Mo. App. E.D. 1983), “Due process requires that laws provide notice to the ordinary person of what is prohibited and that such laws provide law enforcement officials with standards so as to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” The emphasis on confining the discretion of governmental officials with standards is also found in the nondelegation doctrine.

The test for determining whether enactments are sufficiently definite is:

“‘[W]hether

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