Hammerschmidt

Hammerschmidt v. Boone County was a 1994 Missouri Supreme Court ruling which held that the Missouri constitution stipulated a bill can contain only one subject matter, and that subject must be clearly expressed in its title.

It’s considered a good government practice because it allows regular citizens to follow legislation and to understand what’s being voted on.  But it imposes a difficulty on the state legislature, which has a propensity to create omnibus bills with many different provisions.

When unrelated measures are added to a bill, folks may say it “has a Hammerschmidt problem.”