Missouri Supreme Court Hears Arguments Case That Could Influence Reproductive Ballot Initiatives

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case about how much authority a pair of state offices has in ballot petition initiatives. The ruling will determine the fate of reproductive rights ballot initiatives in the state.

The arguments came in an appeal of a Cole County Circuit Court decision over a proposed amendment that would add abortion rights to the state's constitution that was stalled after GOP attorney general Andrew Bailey refused to sign off on Republican Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s cost estimate of the proposal. Tuesday’s case will determine when signature collection for the ballot initiatives can start.

Fitzpatrick, who consulted state and local agencies, determined the estimated cost of the initiative to be minimal to the state, concluding that the state would incur “no cost or savings.” Bailey, however, argued that the cost is higher than Fitzpatrick’s estimate, saying it could cost the state at least $12 billion annually and could potentially put federal Medicaid money at risk, according to a report in the Missouri Independent.  

Last month, in response to legal actions from the ACLU of Missouri, a Cole County Judge ruled that Bailey was required to certify the fiscal note summary within 24 hours. The court ruled that there was “an absolute absence of authority” for Bailey to send the fiscal note back for revision “simply because he disagrees with the auditor’s estimated cost or savings of a proposed measure.”

But Bailey appealed to the Supreme Court. 

In response to the county circuit ruling, on Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Jason Lewis argued that a “plain reading of that statute permits the attorney general to do a threshold review of legal content and form to determine whether a fiscal note summary is argumentative or prejudicial on its face,” KCUR 89.3 reported. 

Lewis also claimed that Fitzpatrick used “nonsensical methodologies” to calculate the cost estimate of the initiative. 

Robert Tillman, representing Fitzpatrick, said that the fiscal note meets legal requirements and that the attorney general plays a “perfunctory” role in that process. 

“If the standoff between two politicians is allowed to prevent this initiative petition process from moving forward, it will effectively end Missourians’ right to direct democracy,” Luz María Henríquez, executive director of the ACLU of Missouri said in a statement on Wednesday.