Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for Mary Anne Sedey's 2019 Article VIII voting petition (version 5, file 2020-076)?
Plain-English summary
Petition 2020-076 was version 5 of a 12-version slate of voting-access initiative petitions Mary Anne Sedey filed in mid-July 2019, numbered 2020-072 through 2020-083. The slate would amend Article VIII of the Missouri Constitution to set up automatic voter registration from state agency lists, ballot transfer at the wrong polling place, permanent vote-by-mail, and a public record of how each voter cast a ballot. Across the 12 versions, the proponent toggled which agencies feed the registration roll and the registration age threshold.
Under § 116.175 RSMo, the State Auditor prepares a fiscal note describing expected revenue and cost effects. The AG then reviews the fiscal note's "legal content and form" under § 116.175.4 RSMo. That review is procedural, not an audit of the auditor's numbers. AG Schmitt's letter approved the legal form of the fiscal note for version 5.
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.
The exact fiscal-note summary the AG approved
State governmental entities expect one-time costs of at least $1 million and possible ongoing costs. Local governments are expected to have costs of an unknown amount totaling at least $756,000 in one-time costs, $61,000 in annual costs, and $181,000 in costs per election.
Common questions
Q: What does the AG actually approve here?
A: Only the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary, that is, whether the auditor's text complies with § 116.175.4 RSMo's requirements. The AG does not opine on whether the dollar figures are correct or fair. A separate challenge under § 116.190 RSMo lets registered voters litigate accuracy.
Q: How does version 5 differ from the other versions in the slate?
A: The 12 versions vary on two policy levers (the registration age threshold and which state agencies are tapped for the registration roll), with multiple drafting variants per cell. The fiscal note for version 5 carries the higher dollar amounts ($756,000 local one-time and $61,000 annual local) seen in versions 5 and 6, suggesting a broader registration source list. The summary statement companion is opinion 148-2019.
Q: Why $181,000 per election in local costs?
A: That recurring per-election figure tracks the cost of operationalizing the petition's polling-place mechanics (chiefly the ballot-transfer rule), which require local election authorities to handle and reroute ballots cast at the wrong precinct.
Q: Did this petition reach the ballot?
A: The opinion does not say. None of the 12 Sedey 2019 versions appears to have reached the 2020 statewide ballot.
Background and statutory framework
Chapter 116 RSMo lays out the initiative-petition pipeline. This opinion sits at step 3:
- Proponent files the petition with the Secretary of State.
- AG reviews sufficiency as to form under § 116.332 RSMo.
- State Auditor prepares a fiscal note; AG reviews under § 116.175.4 RSMo (this opinion).
- Secretary of State drafts a summary statement; AG reviews under § 116.334 RSMo.
- Petition certified for circulation.
Citations and references
Statutes: § 116.175 RSMo (the operative provision); § 116.175.4 RSMo (AG fiscal-note review); § 116.190 RSMo (judicial challenges); § 116.332 RSMo (form sufficiency); § 116.334 RSMo (summary statement review).
Companion summary-statement opinion (2020-076, version 5): 148-2019.
Sister Sedey July 2019 12-version slate (2020-072 to 2020-083) fiscal-note opinions: 127-2019 (v6), 128-2019 (v7), 129-2019 (v8), 130-2019 (v9), 131-2019 (v10), 132-2019 (v11), 133-2019 (v12). Earlier numbered fiscal-note opinions cover v1-v4 of the same slate.
Sister Sedey later-July 2019 wave fiscal-note opinions (2020-088, 2020-089): 134-2019, 135-2019.
Source
- Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
- Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/126-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Original opinion text
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT
July 18, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 126-2019
The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Auditor Galloway:
This office received your letter of July 8, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Mary Anne Sedey (20-076). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:
State governmental entities expect one-time costs of at least $1 million and possible ongoing costs. Local governments are expected to have costs of an unknown amount totaling at least $756,000 in one-time costs, $61,000 in annual costs, and $181,000 in costs per election.
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
Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov
OP-2019-0151