Jefferson City, Mo. – The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed the Cole County Circuit Court’s order in granting a writ of mandamus against the Attorney General for delaying the initiative process, describing his arguments as “misleading” and “incorrect” while noting that he “failed” to prove the lower court erred. The Attorney General must approve the fiscal note within 24 hours, or by 1 p.m. July 21, 2023.
“While today is a tremendous victory for Missourians and the right to direct democracy, it is clear that some who hold office will not hesitate to trample the constitution if it advances their personal interests and political beliefs,” said Luz María Henríquez, Executive Director at the ACLU of Missouri. “The ACLU of Missouri will continue to hold politicians accountable to our Constitution and protect Missourians’ right to direct democracy.”
The court acknowledged the harm to Dr. Fitz-James and the initiative process:
“Until the official ballot title is certified – a critical step being held up solely by the Attorney General’s unjustified refusal to act – Fitz-James cannot challenge that title in circuit court or circulate her petitions. Fitz-James’s constitutional right of initiative petition is being obstructed, and the deadline for submitting signed petitions draws nearer every day.”
“At every level of our judicial system, the courts saw the Attorney General’s effort to derail the initiative process for what it was: a deliberate threat to the direct democracy,” said Anthony Rothert, Director of Integrated Advocacy at the ACLU of Missouri. “As obviously unconstitutional as his scheme was, it succeeded in wasting valuable time. If the Attorney General and Secretary of State are serious about their oaths to the constitution, they will carry out their duties today, not cause more delay.”
In early May, after documents revealed that Attorney General Andrew Bailey, in an unprecedented effort, was abusing the authority of his office to coerce the elected State Auditor to artificially inflate the fiscal using inaccurate information. The disagreement between the two state officials led to a stalemate, providing no recourse to Dr. Anna Fitz-James, who filed the petitions, or Missourians’ constitutional right to direct democracy through the initiative petition process.
The ACLU of Missouri filed a verified petition for writ of mandamus and declaratory judgement seeking the court to compel action from either official or for the Secretary of State to certify the ballot title. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem found the Attorney General had an “absolute lack of authority” to reject the fiscal note and that his claim to have the authority to dictate the fiscal note to the Auditor is “preposterous.”
The certification process should take approximately 54 days and has for every other initiative petition. In this case, certification will have taken at least 135 days from submission solely because of the Attorney General’s obstruction. This purposeful stall has taken nearly three months away from signature collection efforts, which now will be more expensive.
Read the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision.