Did the Missouri AG approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition (20-020) amending Article VI of the Missouri Constitution?

Plain-English summary

On January 25, 2019, AG Eric Schmitt approved the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for Patricia Thomas's initiative petition 20-020, a proposed amendment to Article VI of the Missouri Constitution. The summary reads:

State and local government entities estimate no costs or savings from this proposal.

Under § 116.175.4, RSMo, the AG's review reaches only the fiscal note summary's legal content and form. The letter states expressly that this statutory review "should be construed" neither as an endorsement of the petition nor as any view on its objectives. It does not address the accuracy of the cost estimate or the substantive merits of the petition.

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.

Common questions

What did the AG actually approve here?

Only the legal content and form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary, the short statement of estimated cost or savings that appears on the ballot. The AG did not pass on whether the estimate is accurate or on the petition itself.

What does "no costs or savings" mean?

It is the State Auditor's conclusion that state and local government entities estimated the proposal would not require new spending or generate new revenue. That estimate is the Auditor's; the AG reviewed only its legal content and form.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.175, RSMo and § 116.175.4, RSMo set up the fiscal note and AG review framework: the State Auditor prepares a fiscal note and fiscal note summary for an initiative petition, and the AG reviews the summary for legal content and form.

Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49-53 establish Missouri's initiative process. The petition here proposed an amendment to Article VI.

Citations

• § 116.175, RSMo (fiscal note and fiscal note summary requirement)
• § 116.175.4, RSMo (AG review of fiscal note summary)
• Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49-53 (initiative process)
• Initiative petition 20-020 (proposed amendment to Article VI, submitted by Patricia Thomas)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/25-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI

Eric Schmitt
Attorney General
JEFFERSON CITY
P.O. Box 899
65102
(573) 751-3321

January 25, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 25-2019

The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Auditor Galloway:

This office received your letter of January 16, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Patricia Thomas, (20-020). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:

State and local government entities estimate no costs or savings from this proposal.

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