Challenge hearing set in suit against Mo. governor

State Auditor Tom Schweich's lawsuit accusing Gov. Jay Nixon of withholding funds unconstitutionally will get a hearing on Halloween.

"On Halloween, and yes, you may wear costumes," Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem quipped to the lawyers as they agreed on that date for the hearing, during a 3-minute court appearance Friday morning.

The Oct. 31 hearing, set for 9 a.m., will focus on Nixon's 19-page motion asking Beetem to find "the Governor has done precisely what the Missouri Constitution by express language authorizes and by implication demands: to "control the rate at which any appropriation is expended during the period of the appropriation.'"

Schweich filed his nine-page suit Aug. 26, arguing Nixon's budget withholdings - announced June 10, the same day the governor signed the budget bills lawmakers passed a month earlier - were unconstitutional for several reasons.