Did the Missouri AG approve the fiscal note for the Pieper Article VI petition affecting St. Louis County municipal revenues?

Plain-English summary

Attorney General Eric Schmitt approved the State Auditor's fiscal note summary for the Christopher Pieper initiative petition (20-054), which proposed to amend Article VI of the Missouri Constitution. Article VI covers local government, so the fiscal impacts the Auditor projected were primarily on municipalities, especially in St. Louis County.

The Auditor's projected range was wide. Individual St. Louis County municipalities expected revenue decreases to exceed savings. The overall annual local fiscal impact was estimated between a cost of $80 million and a savings of $1 billion by 2032, depending on how the proposal would actually play out. State revenue was expected to increase up to $7 million annually by 2032. The AG's review under § 116.175.4 covered the legal content and form of the summary, not the accuracy of the underlying estimates.

The Pieper petition's substance is not detailed in the opinion. Article VI amendments are typically about municipal organization, county structure, or shared-services arrangements. Given the prominent reference to St. Louis County municipalities, this petition likely concerned the long-running discussion of municipal consolidation or revenue-sharing in St. Louis County.

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 was St. Louis County specifically called out in the fiscal note summary?

The fiscal note flags the county where the local fiscal impact would be most concentrated. St. Louis County contains roughly 90 separate municipalities, and any constitutional change to municipal organization there has outsized fiscal effects. The Auditor's office sourced input from many of those municipalities.

Why is the range from a cost of $80 million to savings of $1 billion?

That extraordinary range suggests genuine uncertainty about whether the proposal would consolidate functions (saving money) or fragment them further (costing money). The Auditor presents both bounds rather than picking one.

What is Article VI of the Missouri Constitution?

Article VI deals with local government, counties and other political subdivisions, county organization, classifications, county officers, and city charters. Amendments to Article VI have historically been the vehicle for major municipal-organization changes in Missouri.

Why would the state see only $7 million in additional revenue while local impact is so dramatic?

Missouri's state tax base is mostly insulated from the kinds of municipal reorganizations that affect Article VI. The state collects income, sales, and excise taxes; local entities collect property taxes, sales tax overrides, and municipal fees. A change to local organization typically reshuffles local money without much state-level effect.

Did this petition reach the ballot?

The opinion does not say. Tracking whether 20-054 progressed through signature collection to the ballot requires checking the Secretary of State's records.

Background and statutory framework

§ 116.175, RSMo, governs the State Auditor's fiscal note process. § 116.175.4 sends the fiscal note summary to the AG for legal content-and-form review. The substance of the petition is a proposed constitutional amendment to Article VI of the Missouri Constitution, which is governed by Mo. Const. art. III, §§ 49 to 53 (the initiative process) and the underlying constitutional articles being amended.

Citations

• § 116.175, RSMo (fiscal note and fiscal note summary process)
• § 116.175.4, RSMo (AG review of fiscal note summary)
• Mo. Const. art. VI (local government, the article the petition proposed to amend)
• Initiative Petition 20-054 (Pieper)

Source

• Landing page: https://ago.mo.gov/other-resources/ag-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://ago.mo.gov/wp-content/uploads/attachments/76-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=2

Original opinion text

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MISSOURI
ERIC SCHMITT

April 25, 2019
OPINION LETTER NO. 76-2019

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 15, 2019, submitting a fiscal note and fiscal note summary prepared under § 116.175, RSMo, for an initiative petition submitted by Christopher Pieper (20-054). The fiscal note summary that you submitted is as follows:

Individual St. Louis County municipalities expect decreased revenues to exceed savings with a total unknown impact. The overall annual local fiscal impact is unknown but estimated to be between a cost of $80 million to a savings of $1 billion by 2032. State revenue could increase up to $7 million annually by 2032.

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-2019-0080