Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) reports (some punctuation revised):
In State of Missouri ex rel. Dr. Anna Fitz-James v. Bailey (MO Sup. Ct., July 20, 2023), the Missouri Supreme Court affirmed a trial court's issuance of a writ of mandamus requiring the state Attorney General to approve the State Auditor's fiscal note summaries to eleven Reproductive Rights initiative petitions. That approval is necessary so that the Secretary of State can certify the ballot language and proponents can begin to circulate the petitions for signatures. (Full text of petitions [scroll to No. 2024-77 through 2024-87]). AP reports on the case.
State Attorney General Andrew Bailey—a gubernatorial appointee in Missouri— contended that the Auditor's conclusion that the proposed constitutional amendments would have no fiscal impact were inaccurate. Bailey, an abortion opponent, contended that, if approved by voters, the state could lose $12.5 billion in Medicaid funds and $51 billion in future tax revenues because of fewer births. This earlier report by the Missouri Independent has additional background.
From the opinion:
