Ezel / AG Opinions / MO
MO Opinion No. 252-2019 2019-12-05

Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note summary for the third variant of the 2020 Hirner marijuana legalization petition (2020-128)?

Short answer: Yes. AG Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the Auditor's fiscal note summary for petition 2020-128, the third variant of the Hirner Article XIV recreational marijuana initiative. The estimate projected one-time state costs of $21 million, annual costs of up to $6 million, and annual state revenues from $93 to $155 million by 2025. The AG's approval is a narrow form check, not an endorsement.
Currency note: this opinion is from 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.
Disclaimer: This is an official Missouri Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are persuasive authority but not binding precedent. This summary is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Missouri attorney for advice on your specific situation.

Plain-English summary

Petition 2020-128 was the third variant of Deirdre Hirner's Article XIV recreational marijuana legalization initiative for the 2020 Missouri ballot. AG Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the State Auditor's fiscal note summary, which projected:

State government entities are expected to have one-time costs of $21 million, annual costs of up to $6 million, and annual revenues from $93 million to $155 million by 2025. Local governments estimate unknown costs and are expected to have annual revenues from $17 million to $27 million by 2025.

The lower bound of the state revenue range ($93 million versus the $86 million in petitions 2020-126 and 2020-127) is the only meaningful change from the sister petitions. The AG's review is procedural under § 116.175.4 RSMo and does not pass on whether the projections are accurate.

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

Q: How does this petition differ from the other two Hirner versions?
A: The opinion does not describe the substantive differences between 2020-126, 2020-127, and 2020-128. The fiscal note language reveals only that the lower bound of projected state revenue rose from $86 million in the earlier two to $93 million in this one. Proponents typically file multiple variants of the same concept to retain flexibility about which exact text to circulate for signatures.

Q: Why so many parallel petitions?
A: Missouri proponents commonly hedge by filing several drafts. Each variant runs through its own AG review track. After the AG signs off, proponents pick the version they will actually circulate; the others are dropped.

Q: Did this petition reach the 2020 ballot?
A: No. None of the three Hirner variants in this cluster gathered enough signatures to qualify for the 2020 ballot. Missouri voters legalized recreational marijuana through a different initiative (Amendment 3) in 2022.

Background and statutory framework

This is the same statutory framework used in opinions 247-2019 and 250-2019: the State Auditor prepares the fiscal note and summary under § 116.175 RSMo; the AG reviews legal content and form under subsection 4 of the same statute; the petition then circulates with that summary attached. The AG's review is not a substantive policy review.

Citations and references

Statutes: § 116.175, RSMo; § 116.175.4, RSMo.

Related AG opinions in this petition cluster: 247-2019 (Hirner 2020-126); 250-2019 (Hirner 2020-127); 251-2019 (Secretary of State summary statement for 2020-126).

Source

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
Eric SCHMITT
December 5, 2019

OPINION LETTER NO. 252-2019
The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Auditor Galloway:

This office received your letter dated November 25, 2019, submitting a fiscal
note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted
by Deirdre Hirner, (2020-128) the fiscal note summary that you submitted is as
follows:

State government entities are expected to have one-time
costs of $21 million, annual costs of up to $6 million, and
annual revenues from $93 million to $155 million by
2025. Local governments estimate unknown costs and are
expected to have annual revenues from $17 million to $27
million by 2025.

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. Furthermore, our review
under § 116.175.4 does not examine the fairness or sufficiency of the estimated
fiscal impact.

Very truly yours,

Lah tos

ERIC S. SCHMITT
Attorney General

Supreme Court Building
207 W. High Street
P.O, Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102 OP-2019-0286
Phone: (573) 751-332}
Fax: (573) 751-0774
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