Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary for Rik Combs's initiative petition (20-038) amending Article X of the Missouri Constitution?

Plain-English summary

Missouri's initiative-petition process gives the State Auditor the job of preparing a "fiscal note summary" estimating each petition's revenue impact, and then sends that summary to the AG for legal-content and form review under § 116.175.4, RSMo. This 2019 opinion is the AG's approval of the form of the fiscal note summary the Auditor prepared for petition 20-038, a constitutional amendment proposed by Rik Combs that would amend Article X (taxation) of the Missouri Constitution.

The Auditor's summary, which the AG quoted in full, told voters that "state and local governmental entities estimate reduced tax revenues ranging from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion annually." The AG approved that text as to legal content and form. The opinion adds the boilerplate caveat that the AG's approval is a mandatory statutory review and "should not be construed as an endorsement of the initiative petition or as the expression of any view regarding the objectives of its proponents."

The Auditor's fiscal note summary is the disclosure voters see before deciding whether to sign the petition or vote for it, so the AG's content and form review is the gatekeeping step for that text. The opinion does not describe the petition's substance beyond identifying the article it would amend.

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 does a fiscal note summary do?

It is the short, voter-facing description of an initiative petition's estimated revenue impact. Mo. Rev. Stat. § 116.175 requires the State Auditor to prepare the summary in consultation with state and local government officials, who provide the revenue estimates. The summary appears alongside the petition's title when voters sign or vote.

What is the AG actually approving?

Only the legal content and form. The AG checks that the summary is in a permitted form, doesn't violate other legal requirements, and accurately presents the substance the Auditor compiled. The AG does not vouch for the accuracy of the revenue estimate (that is the Auditor's responsibility) and does not endorse the underlying petition.

What does the summary's estimate say?

That state and local governmental entities estimated reduced tax revenues of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion annually. The petition would amend Article X, the Missouri Constitution's taxation article. That estimate is the Auditor's; the AG reviewed only its legal content and form.

Did this opinion describe what the petition does?

No. The letter identifies the petitioner and the article amended (Article X) and reproduces the fiscal note summary. It does not lay out the petition's specific provisions.

Background and statutory framework

Missouri's initiative-petition process runs through Chapter 116 of the Revised Statutes. The State Auditor prepares fiscal notes and fiscal note summaries under § 116.175. § 116.175.4 directs that the fiscal note summary be reviewed by the AG for "legal content and form" before publication.

Article X is the Missouri Constitution's taxation article, which this petition proposed to amend.

Citations

• § 116.175, RSMo (State Auditor preparation of fiscal note and fiscal note summary)
• § 116.175.4, RSMo (AG review of fiscal note summary for legal content and form)
• Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49 to 53 (initiative and referendum process)
• Mo. Const. art. X (taxation, the subject of the proposed amendment)
• Initiative Petition 20-038 (Combs, Article X)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/51-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
JEFFERSON CITY
ATTORNEY GENERAL
65102
P.O. Box 899
(573) 751-3321

February 21, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 51-2019

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

Dear Auditor Galloway:

This office received your letter of February 11, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Rik Combs, (20-038). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:

State and local governmental entities estimate reduced tax revenues ranging from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion annually.

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

OP-2019-0041