Did the Missouri AG approve the Auditor's fiscal note summary for Heidi Miller's initiative petition (20-053) amending Chapter 208 (Medicaid)?

Plain-English summary

State Auditor Nicole Galloway prepared a fiscal note and fiscal note summary for Heidi Miller's initiative petition 20-053, a proposed amendment to Chapter 208 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri (the public assistance and Medicaid chapter). Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the legal content and form of the Auditor's summary under § 116.175.4. The summary read:

State government entities are estimated to have one-time costs of approximately $6.4 million and an unknown annual net fiscal impact by 2026 ranging from increased costs of at least $200 million to savings of $1 billion. Local governments expect costs to decrease by an unknown amount.

The AG's review goes to legal content and form, not to the accuracy of the underlying fiscal estimates. The letter states expressly that this statutory review is not an endorsement of the petition.

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

Why is the net-impact range so wide?

The Auditor reported the annual net fiscal impact by 2026 as a wide range, from increased costs of at least $200 million to savings of $1 billion, rather than committing to a single number. That estimate is the Auditor's; the AG reviewed only the summary's legal content and form.

What did the AG actually approve here?

Only the legal content and form of the fiscal note summary, the short statement of estimated cost or savings that appears on the ballot. The AG did not pass on whether the underlying numbers are right or on the petition itself.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.175, RSMo, requires the State Auditor to prepare a fiscal note and fiscal note summary for initiative petitions. § 116.175.4 sends the summary to the AG for legal review. Chapter 208 is Missouri's public assistance and Medicaid chapter, which this petition proposed to amend.

Citations

• § 116.175, RSMo (fiscal note and fiscal note summary process)
• § 116.175.4, RSMo (AG review of fiscal note summary)
• Chapter 208, Revised Statutes of Missouri (public assistance and Medicaid statutes the petition proposed to amend)
• Initiative Petition 20-053 (Miller, Chapter 208)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/74-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT

April 19, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 74-2019

The Honorable Nicole Galloway
Missouri State Auditor
State Capitol, Room 121
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Dear Auditor Galloway:

This office received your letter of April 11, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Heidi Miller (20-053). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:

State government entities are estimated to have one-time costs of approximately $6.4 million and an unknown annual net fiscal impact by 2026 ranging from increased costs of at least $200 million to savings of $1 billion. Local governments expect costs to decrease by an unknown amount.

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

Broadway Building
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3321
Fax: (573) 751-0774
www.ago.mo.gov

OP-2019-0078