1. Whoever engages on Sunday in the business of selling or sells or offers for sale on such day, at retail, motor vehicles; clothing and wearing apparel; clothing accessories; furniture; housewares; home, business or office furnishings; household, business or office appliances; hardware; tools; paints; building and lumber supply materials; jewelry; silverware; watches; clocks; luggage; musical instruments and recordings or toys; excluding novelties and souvenirs; is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for the first offense be sentenced to pay a fine of not exceeding one hundred dollars, and for the second or any subsequent offense be sentenced to pay a fine of not exceeding two hundred dollars or undergo confinement not exceeding thirty days in the county jail in default thereof.

2. Each separate sale or offer to sell shall constitute a separate offense.

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Terms Used In Missouri Laws 578.100

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • General election: means the election required to be held on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November, biennially. See Missouri Laws 1.020
  • State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020

3. Information charging violations of this section shall be brought within five days after the commission of the alleged offense and not thereafter.

4. The operation of any place of business where any goods, wares or merchandise are sold or exposed for sale in violation of this section is hereby declared to be a public and common nuisance.

5. Any county of this state containing all or part of a city with a population of over four hundred thousand may exempt itself from the application of this section by submission of the proposition to the voters of the county at a general election or a special election called for that purpose, and the proposition receiving a majority of the votes cast therein. The proposal to exempt the county from the provisions of this section shall be submitted to the voters of the county upon a majority vote of the governing body of the county or when a petition requesting the submission of the proposal to the voters and signed by a number of qualified voters residing in the county equal to eight percent of the votes cast in the county in the next preceding gubernatorial election is filed with the governing body of the county. The ballot of submission shall contain, but not be limited to, the following language:

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?FOR the exemption of ______ County from the Sunday sales law
?AGAINST the exemption of ______ County from the Sunday sales law

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If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters voting thereon in the county are in favor of the proposal, then the provisions of this section shall no longer apply within that county. If a majority of the votes cast on the proposal by the qualified voters voting thereon in the county are opposed to the proposal, then the provisions of this section shall continue to apply and be enforced within that county. The exemption of any county from the provisions of this section shall not become effective in that county until the results of the vote exempting the county have been filed with the secretary of state and with the revisor of statutes and have been certified as received by those officers. The revisor of statutes shall note which counties are exempt from the provisions of this section in the Missouri revised statutes.

6. In addition to any other method of exemption provided by law, the governing body of any county of this state may exempt itself from the application of this section by order or ordinance of the governing body of the county after public hearing upon the matter. Such public hearing shall be preceded by public notice which shall, at a minimum, be published at least three different times in the newspaper with the greatest circulation in the county. Upon such order or ordinance becoming effective, such county shall be exempt from the provisions of this section and no election or other method of exemption shall be required. The exemption of any county from the provisions of this section by order or ordinance shall not become effective in that county until the order or ordinance has been filed with the secretary of state and the revisor of statutes and has been certified as received by those officers. The revisor of statutes shall note which counties are exempt from the provisions of this section in the Missouri revised statutes.