JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri state legislators have said they have “no Ferguson agenda” to pass following racial unrest in the St. Louis region surrounding the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, by a white police officer.

Instead, they have said they will focus on a number of policy proposals focused on the entire state which aim to address various components of the problems brought to light in north St. Louis County.

One of those is municipal court reform.

On Wednesday, State Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, presented a bill that would further reduce the amount of revenue cities can glean from traffic tickets and court fees. Current law here allows cities to get as much as 30 percent of their revenue from municipal courts. Schmitt’s measure would drop that to 10 percent.

“We have too many municipalities who are too reliant on traffic tickets and fines to fund their government, and it’s led to too many injustices in our system,” Schmitt said. “What we’re trying to do is take away the abilities of cities to fund their governments based on a corrupted set of schemes.”

The issue is not limited to St. Louis County, but it is clearly apparent there. In fourteen municipalities in St. Louis County, more than half of their general revenue comes from traffic tickets and court fees, Schmitt noted. St. Louis County accounts for 22 percent of the state’s population, but 50 percent of traffic tickets, he said.

“We have created, in many ways, through these abusive traffic schemes and court fees… modern day debtor prisons,” said Schmitt, pointing to the fact that people are arrested in some St. Louis municipalities when they do not pay their fines.

During Wednesday’s hearing, opposition was led by local mayors concerned about the loss of funding for their police departments and raised an issue often raised by legislators when the federal government gives them orders: local control.

“We deserve for our residents to be protected,” said Greendale Mayor Monica Huddleston. “If the federal government told the state of Missouri that your lottery or casinos shouldn’t happen anymore and all that money goes away, you would have to figure out how to make up the difference.”

In an unusual showing, the St. Louis Tea Party and the American Civil Liberties Union found themselves on the same side of the issue in favor of Schmitt’s legislation. Both groups testified about their support.

Schmitt said the measure, a top priority of Senate leaders, could be passed out of committee as soon as next week.