At least three rulings this year by two Cole County circuit judges may have set up an opportunity for the Missouri Supreme Court to tell the state auditor what to do.
The issue is the auditor's involvement in writing fiscal notes for initiative petitions, before they can be circulated to get signatures so a proposed law or constitutional amendment might be placed on a statewide election ballot.
This year, among the 50 lawsuits filed in Cole County challenging various petition proposals, several have questioned the auditor's role by pointing to the state Constitution's definition of the auditor's work.