Missouri Supreme Court hears arguments in abortion ballot question lawsuit
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit against the Missouri Attorney General that would allow an initiative petition on reproductive rights to move forward.
Both sides presented their arguments before the Missouri Supreme Court today Tuesday afternoon.
An initiative petition on abortion access was stalled as Attorney General Andrew Bailey and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick disagreed on the fiscal note. Because of this, the ACLU filed a lawsuit asking the judge to force the certification process to move forward.
The initiative petition aims to codify abortion rights in the Missouri Constitution. There are 11 total rights it outlines, including access to abortion, birth control and miscarriage management. The petition also outlines parameters for each of those rights.
In June, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beteem ruled the attorney general must approve the fiscal note on a proposed initiative petition within 24 hours, allowing the petition to move forward. However, the attorney general's office appealed the decision, moving the case to the Missouri Supreme Court.
Anthony Rothert, representing ACLU Missouri, said stalling the initiative petition is wasting time.
"It's not an understatement to say that he's [Attorney General Andrew Bailey] trying to carry out a coup against the people of Missouri, taking away their authority to change the law by initiative, by using the statutes that are there to stall, stall and stall," Rothert said.
On the other side, Jason Lewis, who argued for the Missouri Attorney General's office, said it's well within the the Attorney General's power to hold up the fiscal note of an initiative petition.
"A plain reading of that statute permits the Attorney General to do a threshold review of legal content and for to determine whether a physical note summary is argumentative or prejudicial on its face," Lewis said in court.
Robert Tillman argued for the Missouri Auditor's office. Tillman said the auditor fulfilled his duty by providing a fiscal note regardless of the interpretation of state statute, however the Auditor's Office disagrees with the Attorney General's reading of state statute.
"The numbers are numbers, and the language of 116.175 is clear," Tillman said.
The statute being discussed says, "The state auditor may consult with the state departments, local government entities, the general assembly and others with knowledge pertinent to the cost of the proposal."
The Missouri Auditor and Attorney General both stand by their oral arguments and did not have any further comment to add.
Rothert said it doesn't matter the reason why the Attorney General is holding up the approval process -- whether it's politically motivated or not -- because the end result is the same.
"It really doesn't matter to us what the motives are of the auditor or the attorney general," Rothert said during a news conference. "What matters is the clock is ticking on signature gathering and the right to initiative is at stake."
If the fiscal note is approved, the petition needs final certification from the Secretary of State and then it can go out for signatures. In order to be put on the ballot, the petition needs signatures from 5% of legal voters in six-of-eight voting districts. More information about the initiative petition process can be found online.
Republicans made initiative petition reform a priority for the past few legislative sessions, but never got a bill across the finish line. Currently, it takes a simple majority of voters for an initiative petition to pass. Republican bills would have changed that to 57% or more.
