Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Shetova Hayes's 2019 statutory initiative cutting the dangerous-felony first-time minimum prison term from 85% to 50% (file 20-092)?

Plain-English summary

Petition 2020-092 was Shetova Hayes's statutory initiative to amend Chapter 558 RSMo to cut the dangerous-felony first-time minimum prison term from 85% of the sentence to 50%. The full mechanics are described in the companion summary-statement opinion 158-2019.

Under § 116.175 RSMo, the State Auditor prepares a fiscal note explaining the petition's expected revenue and cost effects. The AG then reviews the fiscal note's "legal content and form" under § 116.175.4 RSMo. The AG approves form, not accuracy, of the auditor's numbers.

The fiscal note approved here projects no additional state-government costs and possible savings of an unknown amount (because freed inmates would no longer be in state custody), with no costs or savings to local governments. AG Schmitt's letter approves the legal form of that fiscal note.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The exact fiscal-note summary the AG approved

State governmental entities estimate no additional costs, and possible savings of an unknown amount. Local governmental entities expect no costs or savings.

Common questions

Q: Why "possible savings of an unknown amount"?
A: Reducing the dangerous-felony first-time minimum from 85% to 50% would shorten time-to-parole for many inmates, lowering total bed-days the state pays to incarcerate them. The auditor could not quantify the savings without knowing how many inmates would qualify and how the parole board would exercise discretion, but flagged that direction of effect.

Q: Why no impact on local governments?
A: Local jails handle short-term, pre-trial, and misdemeanor populations. Dangerous felons serve their time in state-run prisons, so a change to state-prison release timing does not flow through to local jail budgets.

Q: Why does the AG say the review does not examine "fairness or sufficiency"?
A: § 116.175.4 RSMo limits AG review to legal content and form. Whether the auditor's number is the right number is a separate question. The AG check is structural, not an audit of the audit.

Q: Did the petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. Hayes's 2020-092 petition does not appear to have advanced to the 2020 ballot.

Background and statutory framework

Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline. This opinion sits at step 3:

1. Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
2. AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
3. State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo (this opinion).
4. Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo.
5. Petition certified for circulation.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.175 RSMo (the operative provision); Chapter 558 RSMo (sentencing).

Companion opinion on the same petition (2020-092): 158-2019 (summary statement review).

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/136-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
July 19, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 136·2019
The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Auditor Galloway:
This office received your letter of July 10, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and
fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative
petition submitted by Shetova Hayes (20·092). The fiscal note summary that you
submitted is as follows:
State governmental entities estimate no additional costs,
and possible savings of an unknown amount. Local
governmental entities expect no costs or savings
Under § 116.175.4, RSMo, we approve the legal content and form of
the fiscal note summary. Because our review of the fiscal note summary is mandated
by statute, no action that we take with respect to such review should
be construed as an endorsement of the initiative petition or as the expression
of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents.
Very truly yours,

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov

OP-2019·0162